It was much colder out this morning than I was expecting, and since we’ve had continuous days of below freezing temps, my fingers are once again starting to crack and bleed, which takes place every single winter, but at least it didn’t start up until we were over half-way thru January, so I’m now having to keep my hands more lubricated, just so they can start healing, along with helping to keep more from appearing.
Once the sun was up and brightly shining, I decided to take a quick drive out in the countryside, just so I could get some of the city ‘gunk’ off my mind while enjoying the scenery. Yes, that hour went fast, and certainly became a much-needed break. Of course I happened to notice two road-kill deer which must’ve been nailed last night or early this morning. I know I’m sounding wicked when admitting I say to myself whenever seeing them, “Another one of those vile creatures just bit the dust.” I’m sure you’d understand my intense dislike for them if you’ve had to cope with the amount of damage they do to trees, flowers and vegetable gardens. What infuriates me the most, is their taking one bite out of something, then moving on to take another bite out of something else, instead of eating what they started with.
Shortly after I arrived back at office, a friend of mine stopped to help me get those ten vintage photos hung on a wall of my office which I just recently had re-framed that had been in storage for almost 14 years. I can’t remember how many times I chided myself over not having them re-framed and hung, so about a three weeks ago I made up my mind to have it done, and once I stepped back and gave them a good looking-over after they were all hung, I’m glad I went to the time and expense. My gosh! I can’t believe how they’ve changed the ‘feel’ of my office now, and for sure whomever stops by, will likely have something good to say about them. The design and color of those new frames, definitely brings out the best in them. For sure it’ll take a while for me to get used to seeing them once more, and especially when knowing how many years I was around them before they were put in storage.
Most of my afternoon was taken up with an appointment I had with an out of town buyer, and after having looked at four homes today, I’ve got a pretty good idea what he’s looking for, so if he doesn’t pull the trigger one that’s a ‘possibility’, I’ll be sure he gets forwarded the listing info on any new listings which are close to fitting all his needs. After having a good visit with him, I’m confident he’ll be a welcome addition to our community. I soon discovered he’s also a lover of vegetable gardening, and if he should purchase a home with a good-sized yard, he’ll be delighted to find how rich our soils are in North Iowa. It always warms my heart when hearing about those in our younger crowd who’re taking great interest in growing much healthier fruits and vegetables for their tables.
With having some spare time today, I went back and picked up where I left off on my reading of ‘War and Punishment’ which offers an in-depth history of Ukraine which had been blotted out of Russia’s history books for centuries. Even though I’m only about a quarter of my way thru it, I’m already wondering how any intelligent Russian would even consider Ukraine always being a part of Russia. But, it’s just one more classic example of how one person like pigmy Putin systematically destroyed free speech and took absolute control over Russia’s media outlets. Keep in mind, he began his propaganda campaign over twenty years ago, and now he’s got the bulk of Russia’s population believing his garbage. Yes, as one of his political enemies recently said, the Kremlin needs to be taken, and a new government quickly established, and Putin can go running off into one of his underground bunkers and rot.
While visiting with a past client this afternoon, I couldn’t help laughing when she got on the subject of how different the rearing of children is in these times compared to a generation or two ago. Of course we both agreed that far too many parents work at being their children’s friends, instead of simply following-thru with raising them as best they can by setting good examples and instilling moral values in them.
With a giggle she asked, “How did you get punished when you were young?”, and my answer being, “Usually it was a whack across the back of my legs with a wire hanger.” Without asking, she proceeded to tell me her mother used to slap their bottoms until one day her and her sister started laughing because it really didn’t hurt, but the next time around, they got it really good with a wooden paddle. I laughed while adding, “You and your sister should’ve faked it and spared yourselves the painful wood.”
Not long after we spoke, I began thinking of a handful of husbands and wives who worked very hard at being their children’s friends, and I dare say some of those end results weren’t what those ‘friendly’ parents were expecting, and especially how little respect their adult children ended up having for their parents. My gosh, the first time I heard an adult child say “shut up” to a mother or father, I was left speechless, and believe me, I’ve heard such language coming out of far too many adult children over these recent years. My gosh! I couldn’t even imagine saying something like that to my parents even when I reached adulthood. Of course I’ve also heard children swearing at their parents, calling them stupid, and the list goes on. But the funny thing about it all, most of them as children, were their spoiled ‘friends’. Yes, the lack of respect seems to have become another by-product of our social medias and non-existent discipline, and you don’t have to look very far to see it happening closer to home than you care to fully realize. Don’t ya know, little naughty monkeys grow up to be big naughty monkeys, and unfortunately by that time, the gorillas are already out of their cages. Ouch!
Tonight’s One-liner is: Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards.
