Ravings of a Mad Man: vol. 3.32

Ravings of a Mad Man: vol. 3.32

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid then open it and remove all doubt

-Mark Twain

It is the end of an era. I am not talking about sports or day time TV I am referring to my Velcro shoes. They were with me through thick and thin. I had worn them on many adventures in the mountains, or just down to the local 7-11 for a quick Slurpee. These shoes had been with me through more crap (literally) than any other pair of shoes I have owned to date. It sure is wonderful knowing that there is a pair of shoes as reliable as gravity. They were always there for me when I needed a quick pair of shoes to make a run out to the garbage can or mow the lawn or chase down delinquents. They were there and they are broken. However, they went out with guns a blazing. I was removing the third and final tree stump from my yard. It was a long drawn out battle between me and this stump that required a lot of kicking and digging. I had almost all of the roots cut and the dirt gone from the bottom of the stump when I began to push with all of my might. Grunting loudly and profaning under my breath I pushed and kicked that stump until eureka; it was dislodged from the ground. I had done it! It was then I realized that my shoe was not as happy as I was. My toes now protruding from the side of my shoe I knew that I could no longer wear these shoes and feel like a man. They had to go; they had to be properly destroyed. Taking them off one Velcro strap at a time I placed them in the garbage can with a hope that a raccoon or maybe rat would find as much use out of them as I have. I had to fight back the tears the garbage lid closed on this chapter of my life. The best $10 I ever spent.

Trivia Time: Well I do have to say that the winner from last week is a first time winner. Kent J. bringing down the house with the correct answer knowing that the world's largest fish is the Whale Shark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark. This week's question is what is the world's largest lizard?

Beat the Odds Tip: Often times people think they have to cutest kids in the world so this week the beat the odds tip is something my Great Grandma would say to me all of the time, "Ugly cats make cute kittens."

With the fourth of July this week there is only way to finish this letter and that is with the lyrics to out nations song. This is not the same verse you hear at your sporting events rather it is the fourth and final verse of the song, in my opinion the best verse of them all.

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Have a good week I know I will.

Eric Jones

The Blog www.oprahismymom.blogspot.com