Men and mascara - they both run at the first sign of emotion.

I drove to Mesa this evening to look at that '67 Beetle I linked to in last night's post. In the ad he listed the condition as "1" which means exceptionally good, with no rust, complete and mechanically sound.
We call that literary license. But it explains why his price is $3,000 OBO.
It won't stay in first gear (a common tranny problem with VW's of that vintage), stalls at idle, needs significant interior work and has a paint job that would make Earl Scheib blush. He'd have sold it to me for $2,000 but I couldn't have driven it home.
However, it was a good learning experience. I've done a lot of reading about what to look for, how to evaluate a Bug. This was a chance to put what I've learned into practice and take my nascent skills for a test drive (pun intended).

The valves that shut off water to a house rarely shut off water to a house, at least not completely. So if one had to replace a shut off valve to a bathroom sink, for example, shutting off the water to the house would have only limited value for keeping water from pouring out underneath said sink.

[begin rant]
I hate whiners. And worse than a kid who whines is an adult who whines. It's forgivable, if not tolerable, in kids; comes natural for them. But adults should know better. Part of growing up, maturing.
Can you guess what I hate more than an adult who whines?
A PASTOR WHO WHINES!!
All that mamby-pamby complaining about the demands of the job, the people who betray, the sacrifices required, the unfairness of the treatment.
Put a sock in it!
To quote Super Chicken, "You knew the job was tough when you took it."
Look, if you wanted a job where nothing goes wrong you should stay home because those jobs don't exist. That's why they're called jobs, not recreation. If you wanted a job where the chances for bad stuff are minimal you sure shouldn't have taken a position that involves leadership. Certainly you weren't that naive.
Look, I've had my share of blows upside the head. Anyone who has been in ministry for more than two years has had them. Sooner or later one or more of those blows will leave you bleeding. Been there, done that. At that point you have two choices: shake it off and get back to work or retire to the sidelines. No shame there. If that last whack took it all out of you don't feel ashamed. JUST DON'T WHINE!
It is a privilege to serve a congregation as their pastor. Every once in awhile there's a wolf in sheep's clothing, but the rest of them are good folk who will respond in kind to the love they're shown. If you don't feel that way it's time to get out. But when you leave, do the rest of us a favor and keep your mouth shut. Man up! Otherwise people will get the idea that we're all wimps and whiners.
[end rant]

Be careful what you wish for. President Elect Obama is already catching some heat, first for appointing Gov. Richardson to a post in his cabinet despite an investigation into potential corruption involving the awarding of state contracts. Then several Senators, including leading Democrats, came out in opposition to Obama's choice of Leon Panetta as head of the CIA despite Panetta's total lack of experience within the intelligence community.
Hey, maybe he should go into the ministry! I hear there aren't any hassles in that profession.
(Do you suppose Obama goes home and whines to his wife?)