Wasn’t that quite the shock effect when walking outdoors this morning? Besides there being more snow to clear off, it was below zero. Ouch! At least the wind wasn’t blowing much stronger than a breeze, and thank goodness for that.
I was all the more glad I’d cancelled that planned open house for today because for sure it would’ve been a waste of time. I did get back to my snow shoveling and managed to get it finished before turning into an icicle. Most of the rest of my day was spent indoors where I found enough to keep myself busy until my early afternoon appointment arrived.
One of my colleagues called this morning to have a chat which gave me an opportunity to bring him up to speed on the happenings of this past week. Inciting laughter with him is not the easiest, but one of the stories I told did get a few good chuckles out which he certainly needed.
It’s unfortunate most in our general population don’t laugh as much as they used to. When thinking back say twenty years or more ago, people were laughing and joking all the more–especially in the workplace. Even now I find myself purposely working at getting a few giggles out of people I come into contact with. I can’t imagine living from day to day without something to laugh about or another to laugh with.
I’m wondering if all this political correctness is causing people to be careful about making jokes for fear of hurting someone or some group’s feelings. I really do get it when knowing there are limits to all forms of comedy, but when we find many more special interest groups creating un-necessary taboos on words and phrases, that’s when I believe we’ve gone too.
As I’ve said a number of times before, fear is the root of all evil, so when we continue to build up all the more fears, we are moving closer to a dangerous dark side. When on the subject of fear, I reminded someone several days ago how millions of people were murdered during the Second World War all because of the fears two demonic world leaders had instilled in their people–one being Stalin and the other Hitler. Between the two, Stalin sent more millions to their death because of the paranoid fears he had of his own countrymen.
Some of the haunting photos that were taken during those war years of the purges, the camps, the firing squads, and the death chambers, leave chilling reminders of how the will of a few can affect millions of innocent lives. With the rise of tribalism in our world, it’s concerns me that history may be repeating itself, and if there are any who believe global democracies aren’t under attack, then I’d say they’ve got their heads buried in the sand.
I did receive two offers on 807 – 5th St. SE today and presented them both to the seller. I’m not sure what direction she’s going to take because the final choice always rests in a given seller’s hands. I went back thru the sold listings again just to make sure there were homes that substantiated its value. Hopefully I’ll get a call tomorrow with a positive answer for at least one of those buyers.
Since I didn’t have much left to do at the office later this afternoon, I decided to take a short trip out of town to a church service. There weren’t that many people there and likely because of the cold. A young couple with a small boy was seated ahead of me, and I couldn’t help but notice the little tyke busy with his crayons in a coloring book. He appeared to be particularly fond of the color purple and used it freely. I almost said something clever to his mother, but then decided not because I don’t know the family.
All in all, I’d say it was a worthwhile spiritual trip because I’m still thinking about several of the messages from the gospel readings. The story of the wedding at Cana has always been one of my favorites and was reminded today that Cana was where Christ likely performed his first noticeable miracle where he turned stone jars filled with water into the finest wine.
Wishing you all a comfy cozy evening, and hopefully you’re enjoying some much deserved downtime.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The Second Amendment says we have the right to bear arms, not to bear artillery.
