A LUNCH THAT HAD NO APPEAL FOR LUNCH

We had four bbq'd chicken wings and some potato salad left over from supper last night.

"You can have that for lunch tomorrow," I suggested to Rosanne.

At noon today, however, she announced as only she could:  "I don't want that lunch for lunch (meaning the wings and potato salad)!"

"Well, then, maybe you can have it for supper," was my common sense retort, "otherwise it'll go to waste.".

"I don't want that lunch for supper either," came the mournful yet decisive reply.

I didn't dare mention having the lunch for breakfast tomorrow.  For some reason I didn't want to have that lunch for lunch today either.   Any wonder I'm on the brink of insanity?

Biblical expressions are timeless

My last post (below) carried what may seem to be a rather odd heading.  "Seeing through a glass, darkly" referred to the fact that I had engaged in a close look at myself and was taking measures to correct what I saw.

In the real biblical sense, to "see through a glass (mirror-like), darkly," is to have an obscure or imperfect view of reality.  The expression comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul where he explains that we do not now see clearly, but at the end of time, we will do so.  Sadly, to my way of thinking, Paul's contention will come too little too late to do our worldly selves any good, but I digress.

The "through a glass" heading got me thinking about other age old expressions that remain in common usage today.  "No man can serve two masters". "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". "The last shall be first, and the first last". "Man shall not live by bread alone". "Turn the other cheek". "Well done, thou good and faithful servant".  What do these familiar expressions have in common? The answer is of course that they all derive from the King James Bible. In fact, they can be traced to a single one of the 66 books that make up the Old and New Testaments: St Matthew's Gospel.

Even in an age when Christian faith is faltering, the language of the 1611 King James Bible is an important strand running through everyday English. Whether consciously or not, we reproduce its elegant phrasing when we say something is a thorn in our flesh or refer to an event having turned the world upside down. From Matthew alone we draw the expressions "den of thieves", "thirty pieces of silver", "O ye of little faith" and "the salt of the earth".

"Get thee behind me, Satan" is another Biblical expression frequently called on by yours truly.  Sometimes he does...Sometimes he doesn't, but once again I digress.

SEEING THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY

Something happened to me on the way to my present persona and I do not necessarily like it.

I have written before about the shyness that I was born with and troubling adolescent inhibitions that carried well into manhood.  It took almost 70 years for me to be comfortable in my own skin.  Along with that comfort, however, came a growing tendency to be a bit of a mischief maker and a compulsive tease.  It has been a subtle transformation that only recently I have acknowledged through some eye-opening soul searching.

More than anything else, perhaps, it has been Rosanne's insistant "people just do not understand your weird sense of humour, Dick", that finally forced me to take a close look at what I thought was a harmless "fun" side of my nature.  What I came to realize is that generally that "fun" was at other people's expense and that increasingly I could legitimately be accused of trouble-making.

Did the devil make me do it, or was I giving in to a personality flaw that had this strange way of surfacing?  Honestly, maybe a little of both.

It has been suggested that mischief making is a creative activity on a par with painting, cooking, basket-weaving, flower-arranging or God help me -- writing.  Pride is taken in all those types of activity.  Practised mischief/trouble-makers like me also become apt at hiding a big wooden spoon  because we know that stirring the pot is always best done subtly.  A disruptive word here.  A slightly stinging criticism there.  A tongue-in-cheek joke someplace else.  Gleefully rattling chains.

It is rather sad for me now to think of how often my kind of "fun" may have actually been misplaced and unappreciated.  As result, I am making a conscious effort to abstain from any form of teasing or mischief that has hidden potential to be misunderstood.  I am refusing to rise to the devilish challenges that so frequently presented themselves to me in the past.

If I do not seem to be the fun(ny) kind of guy that I used to be, you will now know the reason why.  It is all for the better.  Self-sensorship is serious business and it is certainly no laughing matter!

We jokesters walk a fine line and we have to be sensitive to how our words and actions are perceived.  Many times that "fine line" is none other than a fuse leading directly to a powder keg.

I think we all agree with the principle that we can accomplish far more with warmth, support and consistent kindness, than we can through conflict, confrontation and assertive intervention.  There are times, too, when we are better off turning the other cheek, simply letting go of certain issues and situations.  Why, then, is it so difficult for some of us to grasp that concept?  Why are some things in life far easier said than done?  God bless those who have the capacity to forgive -- and forget!  It is written that "their's will be the Kingdom of Heaven".  

THE BEST DADS BELIEVE IN THEIR KIDS

"My son is a major leaguer playing in the minors."

--Former big league baseball star John Mayberry talking about his son John Jr. who is developing his talents in baseball's minor leagues after several years as a standout college player.

A salute to fathers everywhere whose job it is to be supportive and have faith...And never hesitate to demonstrate pride in their kids.