Milk gravy on biscuits and other food for thought

Today I watched a movie that I had previously recorded on my DVR.

It is titled "Good Luck Chuck."

It has been out a good while and I didn't think it would be worth the price of admission at a theater so I waited for it to come out on DVD at the rental store.  Then I signed up for Showtime with my cable provider and recorded it from there. 

Yes! It did have some nudity and plenty of sexual situations, BUT it also had scads of humor, and I love me some humor when it comes in any situation.

Just thought you'd like to know my opinion of it just in case you've been passing over it at your local Video store.

Hard as nails you must be my son, and another thing; men don't cry

You'll have to work to live in this world; it's not easy but you still must try

Fight for what you believe in, be tough and brave and strong

Be honest, trustworthy, pay your debts; do good and you'll never go wrong

Advice to no end Fathers give you, concerning how to be a man

To prepare you for life as they know it, the very best they can

But I know them for what they really are, under that Macho shell

They are people we love and look up to, the man we all know so well

Known by many names by their children, Father or Pop or Dad

I'll tell you what they really are, the best friend a kid ever had

Like a Tortoise they are hard or on the outside; inside, soft as can be

They never display any weakness, no emotions for others to see

So how come they like little Puppies and love kids the way that they do

Muscled, hard hands, so rough and strong, yet gentle when holding you

Their physical appearance says one thing, their behavior tells you another

If they're so big and bad and tough, how come they're loved by your mother?

Opposites attract, that's what they say and you've all heard that story

Men do all those manly things, things that most women find gory

They hunt and fish and clean their catch, or kill a menacing spider

But let your Mom have a heartache, and he's right there for comfort, beside her

Many things in life can stir your heart and cause sympathetic tears to flow

But the sight of a grief stricken, crying man moves like nothing else I know

Men shed tears so seldom and hide the hurts that bring them pain

Many men have reason to cry like when at war, a friend was slain

Many men have died in battle, the pain of their wounds intense

But to hold back the tears, born of pain, does any of that make sense

I know that most men have loved someone with all that they possess

But to express that love with spoken words, just isn't manly, I guess

Let that same man come to Jesus, to repent and be born-again

Then the tears will flow freely, these new creatures we know are "Real" men

Words of love bubble forth as a fountain, their hearts overflow with His love

Who gets the thanks and the praises; why Jesus, or Lord from above

His Father, He knows all about men, as His creations He certainly should

But men weren't created to be as they are but to be godly, to love others and do good

So if you ever see your Daddy crying, don't think him less than the best

He's more like Christ when he's crying and passed God's "Manly" test

Today is Repeat Day, so we want to know: what song do you have currently have on repeat? Bonus points if you share it with us!

 

Repeat Day!  I didn't like it much the first time around.  Why would I want to repeat it?

OK! You mean what song do I have repeating on my music system.

Here it comes!

 

Karvel Bowles - In this life - mp3

4 comments

Recently I happened upon an episode of The Chris Isaak Show that featured Glen Campbell.

Did you know that he is 73 and still going strong?

After that I got curious about other aspects of Glen's life and went Google searching.

Right away I noticed that all the biographers skipped over the events of Glen's very early professional experiences.

I say that because in the dim recesses of my feeble memory, it seemed I recalled Glen Campbell being on a rock and roll TV program in the mid sixties called "Shindig." I also recalled that he and the program's host, one Bobby Sherman, had what appeared to this viewer, a running battle for the public's favor.  Sherman was the official host but Glen was quickly growing in the public's favor; viewers were screaming for more of Glen and less of Sherman, thus a conflict ensued and led to difficulties for the program's producers. 

That's the way I remember it and I'm sticking with what I recall. 

I finally discovered some reinforcement for my facts during one search in which I found an article that was published in one large, LA Newspaper and felt vindicated and satisfied that my memories were more accurate than all the biographies I've read online thus far.  That article was published in 1991 and it appears that from that point in time, everyone else simply didn't dig deep enough during their research while composing their Bio on Glen Campbell or did discover those facts and deemed them unimportant.  HEY! All the facts are important to someone.

And to think...all this from an old curmudgeon whom often has trouble recalling what he had for breakfast that morning.

I wonder; how many of you remember "Shindig?" 

For that matter, how many of you even saw a black and white TV? 

If you are sitting at home one day, watching a little television and a commercial for giant tree tomatoes comes on and you think to yourself….”I’d like to try some of those in my garden”….whatever you do, do NOT give in to that impulse and call them on the phone.

I’m not saying their product is no good.  I didn’t get that far.  I couldn’t get past the automated phone answering software far enough to be sure that I wasn’t going to be charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars for stuff that I had no interest in whatsoever.

That’s the problem.  They already had my credit card number, name and address but at no time was I permitted to talk to a human being.  All you can do is speak or push a number on your phone pad.  The voice on the other end never gets upset or anxious, nor can it be deterred from it purpose and that purpose is to offer you every product known to mankind and they have little if anything to do with tomatoes. 

The software is diabolical, devious, sinister and evil.  It feels no emotion and could care less if you are confused, upset or even furious.  It cannot be reasoned with and there’s certainly no chance of stopping the ordering process or canceling your order at that time.

I felt sorry for the man who answered the phone when I called their customer service number.  It wasn’t his fault but he was the only human I had spoken with in the last thirty minutes and I was furious by that time.

I ended up having to call  my credit card company’s customer service number and having them flag the name of the company that was selling the giant tree tomatoes.  Later today I will have to call that same customer service number and hopefully I won’t get the same man I spoke to yesterday, thereby trying to get them to cancel anything that may have been order by mistake or on purpose but definitely without my knowledge.  I wasn’t there then….the crazy consumer who lives in the room where my patience and temper lives was the only one present. Guess which one won the right to speak then.  It surely wasn’t patience.

That person is not me.  I never choose to be like that.  In fact, I hate it when I get like that but it’s their fault.  They should be ashamed of doing business that way.

Recently I was watching this daily TV program……….

OK! OK! I was watching Oprah…….

And, as part of said program, which was called “Friday – LIVE” they had James Taylor featured and scheduled to sing some of his hits, as selected by audience members.

I was very interested in how they were going to make the segue from the first part of the program, which included having the sex talk with young children.  Let’s say the transition was awkward at best; crude and stumbling at worse.

Sweet Baby James came out on stage, picked up that familiar old guitar, sat down on a common tall stool and began to perform. I don’t recall the exact order of the hits he sang but soon he was into “You’ve got a friend” singing it as only he can.  It took me back, to a time in my life when songs were simply songs, seeping into my consciousness as background noise because my mind was too busy and not focused enough on what was around me to pay close attention.  I must have heard thousands of repeats of James Taylor’s biggest hits over that period of time when he was at the top of the charts, and I came to know and love his work.

There I was, listening to the lyrics and curious as to how I could have missed their meaning as I listened so many times before. 

It must have been the fact that we were nearing the Easter time of year and in the back of my mind, I was thinking about what Easter means to me. I often wonder what motivates song writers to write the words they do. What was going on in their life?  What was their muse?  James Taylor has never struck me a particularly “spiritual” kind of person; but what do I know about the private world of James Taylor?  The Lord Jesus could have been his savior as well as my own and perhaps he was feeling a bit lonely at that moment in his life.

Anyway, here’s what I heard.  Hey! Jesus could have written these lyrics and was singing them to me right then:

When you’re down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there, to brighten up even your darkest nights.

If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old north wind begins to blow.

Keep your head together and call my name out loud and soon, I will be knocking upon your door.

Then, there’s the chorus:

You just call out my name and you know wherever I am; I’ll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer or fall; all you have to do is call

And I’ll be there….Yeah, Yeah, Yeah….You’ve got a friend

Hey, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend?

People can be so cold.

They’ll hurt you and desert you.

Well, they’ll take your soul if you let them.

But…don’t you let them!

So today, if you are the kind of person who even gives a thought as to what Easter means, repeat the lyrics of James Taylor’s song to yourself and see if it doesn’t bring a little peace to your soul.

For our 38th wedding anniversary, Maureen and I deicded to take in a movie, some lunch and some shopping since we would already be at the local mall.

We agreed on "KNOWING" as the best choice, not that there was much out there that had even the most remote possibility of being a better pick.

We only "Liked" the movie when all was over.  I suppose our taste in movies is in question.

By the way; I hope the world doesn't really end like that but I suppose it could.

That's all from down here.  Go and see it if you want to know what we discovered.

It all started innocently enough; we called for service on our heat pump because to myself, it seemed that the outside unit was running much longer than “normal.”  The term “NORMAL” is subject to my personal interpretation of the habits of our homes specific unit.

The seasonal temperatures for our area had begun to warm, so based on that fact alone, more running time for our heat pump was definitely NOT required.  Maureen also hinted that our last utility bill was higher than we are accustomed to during the winter months.  She’s the financial wizard for our little family group so who am I to question her conclusion?

         It’s a curse I have learned to live with, but I KNOW a lot about heating and cooling because Uncle Sam provided me with considerable training in the area.  He thought it might provide me with the skills needed to acquire a good job after he was through with me.  I won’t stand for some service guy coming to our home and trying to razzle-dazzle me with all his knowledge, talking to me like I’m some rookie about the subject.

The service man who responded to our call for service hadn’t much more than put on his little protective foot covers when he made the mistake of asking me where the “furnace” was located.

I informed him that we didn’t have a furnace; we have a heat pump and air handler combination.  That clued him in on the fact that this old man knows what he’s talking about. 

I was his shadow as he went about his business on the pretense that he might have a question at any moment he might need an answer for.  He removed the squirrel cage blower access cover and whistled.  “Found a bad problem…did you”  I asked? 

“MOLD!” He responded.  “See for yourself” he added, as he stepped back out of the way.  I took a look and sure enough, there was several spots which looked like the fungi I’ve seen on the bark of certain dead trees out in the woods.  That was followed by more information about the problems mold can cause for the dwellers of our home than anyone ever expected.  He asked for a mop bucket, some bleach, rubber gloves and a scrubbing sponge.  I went to get all that, returned and he set about cleaning the mess up.  He talked continuously while he worked about how badly we needed our system’s ductwork cleaned.  I accepted the fact that he may be correct.  It hasn’t been cleaned in over twenty years.

From there he went outside to check the heat pump.  I gave him some time to get set up and going through his routine.  Went outside to check with his progress.  Asked him if he found any problems.  He indicated that he didn’t like the manifold readings he was getting, which to him indicated that the compressor was starting to fail and could go out completely just anytime. The overall charge condition was GOOD so that couldn’t be the reason it runs on for so long.  When all was said and done, in his opinion, it was time to consider replacing the whole thing.

Maureen and I talked about and decided that a ten year old system just might be going bad and that we should do something about it before the summer heat begins, certainly before winter gets here.

We asked the people who sent the service guy over to send us someone to talk to about replacement.  Of course, they did that gladly and quickly.  He came and went, leaving us with a sour taste in our mouth and considerable pain in my hip on the side where I normally carry a wallet.  The last time that same company replaced our entire unit, it cost between three and four thousand dollars and we got a new electric water heater included in that price. This time the estimate started out at more than eleven thousand dollars for the basic unit combo.  ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!  Are they kidding?  And with that, the whole stressful process of searching out the best deal available today began.

We did our due diligence, making appointments and researching possible vendors reputation and products on the Internet and BBB. Maureen was working everyday so it landed in my lap to be at home and talk to the perspective company’s sales reps.  I hated every minute of it.  I had folders for each one, filled with the usual info sheets.  When Maureen came home each day we sat down and talked about the most recent sales visit. As fate would have it, Maureen always had a question that I hadn’t thought of when the guy was here, so I had to call them the next day and ask the question. 

We got four estimates.  The eleven thousand bid went in the reject pile.  The cheapest brand vendor’s bid joined the pile because their reputation was so bad, we would be nuts to consider it.  We narrowed down to two offers and then the real work began. We tried to convince one another that the one we each thought we should go with was the right one.  Each of us had our just reasons for picking whom we picked we thought.  Today, April 3^rd is our wedding anniversary.  We’ve been wed for 38 years.  How time flies when you are having fun. We do not need any sources of friction or controversy in our married life, yet here it is.

From here on in, does it really matter who gets the job?  Maureen has the financial mind set in these kind of matters. I rely on rational thinking and logic, filtering all that through my many years of experience and accumulated knowledge pertaining to the area of  heating and cooling.  Usually, Maureen would focus on price and go from there…BUT THIS TIME she forsook the cost and went with reputation period.  How does a product vendor gain a reputation?  Usually, it depends on how much advertising an individual has been exposed to over their lifetime and who hasn’t heard more than once along the way, “It’s hard to stop a trane?!”

SO, that’s where things stand right now. 

I’m going with American Standard because the price in right and my Uncle Steve worked for them for most of his life and personally, I liked the way the owner sold his product and service.

She’s got Trane on the brain and I may have a hard time swaying her off the track she’s on.  I would think six or seven hundred dollars would have canceled out all that advertising brain washing. I’ve been wrong before and it probably won’t be the last time.

Wish me luck!

What story of personal greatness, achievement or success would your co-workers or friends be surprised to learn about you?
Sponsored by Nature Made.

Mohamed Ali has nothing on me.  He would often call himself "The Greatest."  I must admit, as much as I admired him and respected his skills as a Champion Boxer, I soon got tired of hearing him brag on himself.

I wish I could lay claim to being the greatest or just "GREAT" but I'm not anywhere near it.  That doesn't mean I have no self-respect or self-esteem.  I'm big on me.  I know where I came from and what I have achieved in life and I don't look upon any of my accomplishments lightly.  I know the struggle involved in attaining success in any of my life long goals. I accomplished some of them and failed miserably at others but I exceeded my own expectations most of the time.

I've often laid claim to being a self made man.  It wasn't formal education that got me to where I am today.  I scratched and clawed my way up life's lengthy ladder.  More than once I began where most working men begin, an entry level position and worked my way up through the ranks of two businesses and became a supervisor; a leader of men in the manufacturering world.

I have never been great no matter what that little trophy my daughter gave me for Father's Day stated.  Instead, I was on my way to greatness at some point up the road.  I ran out of fuel before I got to my destination. But, you know what? I think I've had a great life so far. 

Recently I was waiting at a very busy intersection traffic signal.  It is a well known delay area for anyone needing to proceed straight through or make a turn in any direction but the signal length for the left turn I was trying to make is infamous as the longest wait in town even when there is no heavy traffic flow.

I accepted the fact that it would be more than three minutes before I’d be moving so I allowed my attention to drift a little.  Needing something to focus on I decided to count the number of drivers turning left onto Thomas Moore Parkway that had a cell phone held up to their ear.  The first car that passed by had such a driver and that’s where I got the idea to gather some data.

You aren’t going to believe the results of my research; HEY! I could hardly believe it myself.  Sixty-two cars passed by me in the inside lane; there was an equal number of cars passing by in the outside lane but I could only count one lane.  I’m going to assume that at least 50 percent of the drivers in that lane also we using cell phones when they passed.  I think it was a very conservative estimate considering the fact that EVERY driver in the inside lane had cell phones tucked up to their ear. 

After that, I’m telling myself things are out of control.  Kentucky had better not try to enforce a new law that prohibits cell phones being used that way while driving.  It would be impossible to achieve, nor would it have a lasting affect or act to reduce such use. I know my fellow Kentuckians, they are stubborn as the mules their ancestors once used.

I swear and declare, just as my Appalachian cousins still do today; I just don’t understand what all those folks find to talk about that is so important they would risk their lives and mine to accomplish.  After making my turn I was suddenly overcome with this overpowering uneasiness that had me feeling very insecure sitting in my own weapon.