"I'm dating a woman now who, evidently, is unaware of it." - Gary Shandling

No ear plugs, no helmet, no safety classes, no gloves...

I started out the day at Discount Tire. George pointed out yesterday that the fronts were almost as bald as he is, and he was right. I hadn't noticed. The rears only have another 5k-7k in them.
Budget Bu$ster.

I listened to NPR while I worked in Fred and learned I'm supposed to feel guilty for watching the Kentucky Derby tomorrow because it's racist. The song traditionally sung just before the race, "My Old Kentucky Home," had lyrics that originally began:
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the darkies are gay.
Later on in the song the narrator uses the word, darkie again and explains that most of the the other slaves have been sold to a sugar plantation further south and he expects to join them soon.
Years ago the lyrics were changed and darkie was changed to people. The verses that talk about being sold to a different plantation are gone, and the song is much shorter and pretty generic. It's now just about liking Kentucky.
But never mind that it's been changed; the song's history overrides its current form. And years ago Black jockeys got paid less that White jockeys. As a result the Kentucky Derby is tainted beyond redemption and should go away.
This is the kind of nonsense that gave us Donald Trump.

Speaking of Fred, I think I have to call a pest control firm. The carpenter ant traps have been out for about 10 days and I still have ants crawling around inside and continuing evidence of their presence. Phooey!!

I wore my Puerto Rico shirt today - we got short sleeve weather - and they guy behind the counter asked if I'd been there and if I liked it. I explained that I was in P.R. a couple of months ago, but to work, not sight see. He asked what work so I explained that I was a retired pastor and professor and go to teach seminars in churches and for national pastors.
I always wonder what kind of response I'll get to that information. Oregon is NOT the Bible belt.

My brief explanation prompted him to launch into a long and wandering story that wove together his premarital counseling done by a local pastor, some big name pastor from Hawaii, and his grandparents who were very spiritual. Years ago his grandmother told him that if he ever needed spiritual guidance he could open the Bible at random, point to a verse, and be assured that God would give him the teaching that he needed at that point.
What?????

When I was in P.R. doing one of the seminar sessions I talked about the importance of handling the Bible with the care and respect befitting what it is, the Word of God. I illustrated that with a fictional story about a guy who got up in the morning and used the method of closing his eyes, opening his Bible, pointing to a verse, and then opening his eyes to read that verse as the one God had given him to guide his day.
One day he got Matt. 27:5; "...and Judas went and hanged himself."
He thought that was pretty depressing and didn't bode well for his day, so he repeated the process and got Luke 10:37, "Go and do thou likewise."
Naw, that's no good. So let's give it yet another try. And on the third attempt he got John 13:27, "What you do, do quickly."

I didn't share that with the tire salesman this morning. He was on a roll and I didn't want to interrupt.
Or burst his bubble.