High School Soccer

Sometimes, things just work the way they should.  Jerilyn and I have been married 8 years.  So, the day before our anniversary I decided the time was near to pick out a card and buy some flowers.  I walked into the store, located the greeting card section and then the Anniversary section.  Wallyworld has a lot of cards, so I figured I would be there a while.  I like a lot of color in cards, so I reached for the one that was the brightest and begin to read.  It said exactly what I wanted to say and was very attractive in its colors.  “Wait a minute”, I thought, “This process has to take longer.  It cannot be this easy”.   Within 5 minutes of approaching all those cards I was done.  I have to say, I left that store feeling kinda guilty.  Isn’t it strange how we always expect things to be complicated?

Merilyn and I went out the other night to watch her oldest grandson, Chris, play soccer for our local high school.  The game started at 6pm and finished around 8:30pm.  As it turns out, the local gnats were holding a convention at that very field and were determined that dinner was being served.  We tried everything.  Bug spray, Skin So Soft and incense sticks to create a smoke screen.  Nothing worked.  At first, I tried ignoring them, but that lasted for about 1/2 hour.  As dark approached they decided they had their fill of prime flesh and departed, turning things over to the Poquoson Mosquito Brigade.  So now, blood is really starting to flow!  The gnats were a nuisance, but, the mosquitoes were into some serious blood sucking.  We watch impatiently as the clock counted down to two minutes left.  Our team is ahead 1-0.  We decided against staying and celebrating with Chris.  The game is over and we are headed to the truck at a fast pace.  Once inside, relief brings broad grins to our face.  Chris deserved more of our attention, instead, the bugs got most of it.  May be next time?

My Uncle KD’s appointment with his cancer doctor last week had mixed results.  The MRI showed no cancer in his brain, a very small something on his left lung and the cancer has returned to the adrenalin glands on his kidneys.  The doctor decided to wait 7 weeks, scan again and then meet the following week to discuss the results.  I pray every day for God to help him in his battle.  I plead guilty to wanting God to make the cancer go away.    In my heart, I know that the Lord’s promise is to help him deal with whatever happens.  I think that I’m slowly beginning to realize that my prayers should be directed toward finding a cure for this deadly disease.

I recently purchased, online, an Onkyo dual tape player/recorder with the purpose being to digitize all my cassette tapes.  I have a lot of good music on tape and it seemed so wasteful to just let them deteriorate and lose their contents.  The cable that I needed did not come with the unit, but fortunately, I had what I needed to make the connection.  I have to tag each recording manually and so it is labor intensive, but worth the effort.  I record the music as it goes across my sound card using a piece of software called “Total Recorder”.  The quality is very good.  There is no “hissing” that is so prevalent with the thin tapes used in making cassettes.  If you are interested in accomplishing this task with your own tapes and need my help, let me know.  After I finish, I will box up the tapes and give them to the local thrift store so someone else can enjoy the music.

We went out to eat with two close friends this past Saturday night.  After a delicious meal the waitress came by and casually asked “anyone for dessert?â€Â  The couple across the table from us said they would share.  Jerilyn said “no†and fat boy ordered lemon pie.  Within a few minutes this tasty looking pie is setting in front of me, but, something about it is very disturbing!  Resting peacefully on the plate is two forks.  I know that a lot of Asians eat with two chopsticks, but this hillbilly only needs one fork.  Heck, I eat perfectly well with a spoon if that’s the only available utensil.  Then I notice this slender, pretty hand, sliding over and quickly picking up one of them.   All of sudden it hits me!  The waitress expects me to share my dessert with Jerilyn!  Tenderly, Jerilyn says to me “you don’t mind if I take a few bites do you?â€Â  Realizing, quickly, this is a no win situation, I agree that she should eat some of it since I will only get fatter.  There is a lesson in all of this for me: If I order dessert and my wife does not, expect to share.  I still have trouble with that concept.

In the paragraph above, I intended to specify the topping that came on the lemon pie.  After many attempts to spell it, I gave up and left it out. Meringue was the description I was looking for.  Just popped into my head!  Ain’t life great!

Tommy

“Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage.”

Publius Syrus