There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

I just think this is cool. 

I had a meeting last night and didn't get home with time left for writing a post. There is an hour at which my brain slips out of gear for the day. At that point activity should be limited to eating, watching mindless TV and going to bed. I did all three.

I think our next purchase should be a Citroen 2CV. Once voted the ugliest car in the world, it's full of simplicity, functionality, and character. It's what the French came up with when faced with the Germans' epitome of those virtues, the VW. In true French form they made their version eccentric for the sake of eccentricity.

I don't think I'm old. I'm fairly fit for my age, I know who Adele is, and don't wear white sox with my sandals. But sometimes I find myself doing something an old person does.
I've mentioned that I have paternal feelings for the people at Pathway, as I had for the people in each of the churches I've pastored. OK, maybe not that first church, but I was in my twenties, they were in their 70's and beyond, and most of them were perpetually grumpy. These paternal feelings may be even more pronounced here because most of the people are 30 or more years younger than me; that is, the age of our kids.
Several times recently I've had to check myself. I find it natural to tack "dear" on the end of a sentence to  the gals at Pathway. I ask them to do something, they readily agree, and my inclination is to say, "Thank you, dear."
It's not gratuitous, and anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a mushy person. But they are dear to me.
I check myself for several reasons. In a world of creepy people and creepier clergy I understand people's fears. And it sounds like an old person thing to do, the kind of thing an 88-year old man would say to the gal who brings him his pills each morning. So I don't say it (except every once in a while it slips out), but I wish I could. I wish we didn't live in a world where we have to be suspicious of others and guard our expressions of genuine love.

I WILL go see this! I was in Israel about 30 years ago and will probably never have the opportunity to go back, so seeing it in 3D is a decent second-best.

We went for Pam's one week post-op appointment this morning. We were called back to the first examining room exactly one hour after her appointment time. There an assistant of some sort checked her vision with the classic eye chart and put drops in her eyes. That took seven minutes (I was keeping track). We were then taken to the back waiting room where we sat exactly one more hour before spending 12 minutes with the dr. who pronounced everything good. There's still a little fluid behind one area of the retina and he wants to see her in another week, but he seems generally satisfied with her progress. So today we repeated almost exactly the experience of our first two visits to that office; you spend at least two hours waiting for no more than 20 minutes of actual medical attention. Which means that in the last seven days we have spent over 7 hours at that office, all but one of them waiting. That does not include the procedure itself, which was performed at a different location.
Pam says I emit irritation.

Don't you feel at least a little sorry for Rick? Whether or not he's qualified to be President, he seems like a genuinely good man - principled, compassionate, humble. But for reasons the pundits will certainly explain to us he could just never catch on with the people. And instead of a swift and clear demise like the Bachmans and Huntsmans of the race, poor Rick is dying the death of a thousand primaries. Party big-wigs are increasingly calling for him to fall on his sword so Mitt can march unhindered into Tampa on a white elephant. Oh wait, that's a white horse. Or a Republican elephant.

He could get tapped for the V.P. spot, a role he indicated he'd accept, or he could fade into obscurity like what's-his-name. Fox will probably offer him a job; they have a habit of that sort of thing. Or he could go to work heading up a non-profit, something doing good work for families caring for sick parents or children. I hope he lands on his feet. He strikes me as the kind of guy who could take this personally, not because he's self-centered but because he's sensitive.
If Fox offers him a job I hope he turns it down. He's got more class than that.