Ancient Forms of Communication

Fellow blogger Bilbo is one of the few people that still likes to communicate via the ancient art of letter writing. Yes, I am talking about longhand, pen and ink letters that are sent via the postal service.

Even letters via email have are finding their way into obscurity.

We live in an age where thoughts can be communicated instantly via text message and nearly everyone has the capability of sending and receiving texts. It seems that few people younger than forty use email as a means of sharing information on a regular basis.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook can distribute thoughts to many people at once and text messaging can be used for individuals or smaller groups. Unfortunately, it seems that communicating with one another has somehow become less personal as technology has made its advances. Many people even prefer texting to talking.

It is odd that the same technology that allows us to communicate instantly around the globe is also the technology that is causing us to be less personal. Social networks that allow us to make hundreds of superficial contacts seem to absorb our time so that we build fewer personal relationships. Even in crowds we isolate ourselves in our tablets and phones and pay little attention to the actual people that are around us.

I think that I'll find somebody to talk with today.
And maybe I'll write a letter, too.

Wow! Conversing and writing letters! That's some ancient communicating!

Be well,
John <><

Goodbyes...again.

Last Friday was our long awaited retirement party.

I have to say that I had a pretty good time and enjoyed seeing people from the distant past as well as the recent past. I received some calls and texts from people that couldn't make it and was surprised by some of the comments that I heard.

Here is a post that I wrote last fall. While I suppose that it is mostly true, it has been nice to see that there are a few people that genuinely seem to miss having me around (at least some of the time).

Today I would say that it is a humbling experience to know that the little things that we say and do can make lasting impressions on people. For a guy that isn't always in control of his emotions or mouth, it is also a little frightening. I have been fortunate that the people that I may have hurt or been unkind toward have not contacted me with their comments. It is difficult to do more than regret those moments and vow to do better in the future. Unkind words cannot be unsaid.

So the recent experiences and re-reading that old post has reminded me to take the time to express appreciation as the opportunity arises. I'll be more purposeful about telling people how they have made positive impacts on me and the other people they engage on a regular basis.

Say good and encouraging things often. Tell others when they are doing well. Encourage one another often.
There are no regrets for a life well lived.

Live well,
John <><

Wasted Days & Wasted Nights

Yeah, that's kind of been me lately.

In truth, I'm perfectly happy letting the days sail by without getting much accomplished. I'm enjoying my long (almost) daily walks, sitting for an hour with a decent cigar and a book, occasionally spitting out a post on one of my blogs and doing little else.

I guess I'll eventually get bored walking through the neighborhood and the weather will get to be too bad for a ride on the motorcycle, but until then I'm enjoying the good life. I don't know of very many friends that get to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee on the deck to start their day in the middle of the week. My back yard is well shaded and the noise that the birds and squirrels make as they begin their day is pretty loud. From the song of a cardinal to the cawing of blackbirds and the barking of squirrels it is quite the cacophony.

A second cup of Starbucks Panama Reserve and nobody to interrupt nature's sound makes for a pretty grand way to begin the day.

Tomorrow night is the combined retirement party for those of us that made the break from work this year. Saturday I'll make my way to central Illinois so that I can take my parents to Chicago on Sunday for an event that they'd like to attend. We'll get a chance to visit with Aaron and Jenny and I'll eventually make my way back home on Monday. If any of my Chillicothe connections would like to get together Sunday evening, message me or text me (phn# in the About Me section) and we'll see what we can do.

It will be a long weekend with a lot of road time, but that's okay with me.

I've got some morning errands to run with Chris today so I guess my walk will have to wait until it gets hot. We are meeting Hannah and Daniel for dinner and an early birthday celebration this evening since I'll be on the road Saturday.

My older cousin warned me that once I'm retired I won't get any days off. He's right. Everyday is a day of retirement. Although I'm usually a slow learner, I've managed to learn this lesson quite well!

Enjoy you're day.
Be well,

John <><

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Today there is still news about Caitlyn Jenner, the Duggar family and the McKinney TX police officer.
Of the three, the only one that is really newsworthy is the misguided and poorly trained police officer and I imagine we'll be hearing about that story for a little while.

Articles and stories about Jenner and the Duggars are split between the right and the left, each wagging fingers at one while defending the other.

To my Christian brothers and sisters, this may seem to come as a shock to you but the world is an evil place. Why do we always act so surprised when things happen that go against our personal sets of beliefs? Why do we always have to take the roles of judge and jury?

I know, I know. The other side does the same thing.
I've seen the memes that show Tim Tebow and comment that the same people that want to allow Jenner a public forum are the people that wanted to silence Tebow.
I'm just surprised that I haven't seen one that shows the same people that defend the Duggars condemning other child molesters or sexual predators!

For the most part, I've stayed out of these online conversations. I'm not sure why I've decided to go ahead and write about it today. Maybe it is because I think that all of it is just not very newsworthy. Maybe it is because none of it affects me in any way. Maybe it is because I get tired of fellow Christians expecting non-Christians to act as if they were Christians while modeling some very un-Christlike behaviors of their own.

If you are a non-Christian reader of this blog, you need to know something about us. Even the truest, most faithful followers of Christ sometimes fail; and sometimes we fail miserably!
If you are a Christian reader of this blog, you need to remember that sometimes we fail; and fail miserably.

We also need to remember that the unbelieving world does not need our condemnation. Even Jesus said that He didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it. The world is already condemned. We need to tell them about the saving power of His love and share that love with them. We need to love them for Him, with Him and through Him.

We have not been given the place of approving nor disapproving their actions and lifestyles. They will answer for their actions when they one day stand before the God they deny.
And we will not be accountable to them for our actions. We will only be accountable to the God that we claim to serve.

The great theologian Charles Spurgeon once said, "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter."

Either we are sharing the love of God or we are not truly Christians.

We all want to believe that we are good.
We are all bad by nature.
This world can be an ugly place at times.

Live well today,
John <><

Chromebook

I've decided that a Chromebook is what I want.

I do most everything (on my computer) online and most of that through Google. I rarely play games or watch DVDs on my laptop and don't own another computer. Most of my photos are stored in my phone or on some social media site. My phone is a Samsung and I have never felt compelled to make the whole Apple jump.

Some time ago I bought a knock-off tablet and thought I would really like it. I liked it okay, but was a little disappointed to find that it was more like having a really large phone than a smaller computer.

Today's post comes to you from my newly acquired Samsung Chromebook.

As with most technology, I imagine that I will never use it to its full potential. I'll use it for its lightweight portability and online access. I doubt that I'll ever have more than one or two games on it and probably won't have many apps, either. I have a separate DVD drive from a previous purchase and will see if it is compatible to watch the occasional magic instruction DVDs.

I am hopeful that I will write more often.

My old laptop has been getting slower and slower and has seen its better days.

Chris uses her phone or Kindle Fire for her online activity. This will be my main tool for connecting to the rest of the world.

This June day is going to warm up quickly in the Ozarks, so I'd better get outside and get my daily walk/run in before it gets too hot. I can always explore the new Chromebook later in the day when it's too hot to be outside.

Be well,
John <><

Remembering Working for a Living

It's rare that I think about my working past. There have been events that remind me of some of the people that I once worked with, but not often.

I have had a few text message conversations with former coworkers and met up with a couple of them to watch a game or just catch up with each other.

Having worked through several other people's retirement, I know that my former colleagues have little reason or occasion to remember me in their daily routines.

However, yesterday I received a picture of a flight progress strip and a note that it made a controller think of me. It made me smile.

A week from tonight is a retirement party for the four of us that retired at the beginning of the year. I'm kind of looking forward to it. There was a time when I wasn't sure that I would even attend and I would be content to just get on with life. But after having heard from some former colleagues  (and being threatened by one colleague's spouse) I'm actually looking forward to it.

I suppose that most of it will be the polite "How's it going?" "Do you miss it?" Aren't you bored?" "I'm so jealous!" kind of small talk. But I think that there will also be some good times and good memories. I know that there will be several retired controllers that will be there and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

At four months and five days, I still consider myself to be an apprentice retiree. I'm not sure of what it takes to get checked out as a journeyman retiree, but I'll continue to work on it.

I managed to get to another ballgame last night and have a few short trips planned for the coming months. If making plans to stay busy is a part of journeyman certification, I may take a long time. Mostly, I'm happy to take things a day at a time...and occasionally look back and remember.

Be well,
John  <><

Good Morning!

It is hard to believe that it is early June already and that it has been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything at Out of My Hat.

Although there have been (and still are) plenty of things to offer my opinion on, I have managed to restrain myself from posting or commenting on most of them.
Staying under the radar (so to speak) is a new hobby of mine!

This morning finds me across town at the Ozark Starbucks sipping on a venti 5-shot Americano and preparing for the 6 mile walk/run home.

Spring in the Midwest has been mild, but the days are starting to warm up and I think an early start will often be in my plans. I generally walk 3-4 miles per day, sometimes more, occasionally less. I'm working in a little running from time to time.

As I pass the time this morning, I'm doing a little people watching. Ozark is an interesting place to people watch. The Starbucks is located in a large grocery store. The clientele ranges from professionally dressed people on their way to work to those that haven't quite seemed to wake up and might have actually slept in the clothes they're wearing today.

White collar, blue collar, young, old, neat, sloppy, skinny jeans, baggy shorts -- they all come for the elixir of life. Some take the summertime iced drinks. Some take the fancy espresso drinks. A few are content with a simple cup of good coffee. They all seem friendly and nobody seems to mind the wait.

...And they all share the same look as they take the first sip -- it is the look of life! It is as if they have just inhaled their first breath of air. It is the official beginning to their day. Up until that moment, everything has been done on autopilot, without thought, just going through the motions.

But now the day can begin.

I hope that your day is a grand one!

Be well,
John <><

Mid-May Musings

It's a beautiful Monday morning in May here in the Ozarks. It is sunny and calm. I am sitting in the shade on the deck with my coffee and computer and life is good.

I'm still working on this retirement gig and trying to figure it all out. I've had several veteran retirees ask me what hobbies I have, if I like golf or fishing, how am I spending my time, etc.

Most days I just try to make sure I get a good walk in (3 or 4 miles). Some days I think about running (Hey, it's the thought that counts, right?). I read a little more than in the past. If I can't think of anything else to do and the weather isn't bad, I take the little motorcycle (Honda CM400) out for a ride in the country.

Eventually, I might get bored with doing nothing and feel that I need to have some purpose in life, but I'm good for right now.

The biggest drawback that I'm discovering is that my friends (the very few that I have) are still working. If I want to take a trip to St. Louis for a Cardinal's day game (or even a week night evening game), everybody has this thing they call a "job" to go to and I am left to decide if I want to make the trip alone or skip the drive and watch it on TV (which is what I've done, twice now). I think next time I'll just go ahead and make the trip, enjoy the ballpark atmosphere and the obligatory ballpark dog (or two) and the quiet time in the car.

After I upgrade to a more roadworthy size motorcycle, that will be a much better solo road trip!

On the ministry front, February and April were busy months, March and May--not so much. I did preach at a local church the first Sunday of May, substituted for a Sunday school class yesterday and have a family wedding to go to next weekend. So, it's not like I haven't had things to do. June has a couple of activities; preaching the 7th, a camp for the 3rd weekend and a couple of other non-ministry events.

I suppose that I do need to find a way to connect with more people. Although the quiet isolation is fine for me, it doesn't work very well in the life of a Jesus follower that needs to spread the Word. Eventually, I'm going to need to have some personal interaction with ... people.

I am sure that I'll figure it out ... eventually.
For today, I'm going to finish my coffee, take a walk and then see what happens next.
I hope that your day is as uncomplicated and as worry free as mine.

Be well,
John <><

PS  At some point this past weekend, Blogger analytics shows that I went over 100,000 page views on my humble little blog. 
Thank you for reading.

It's About ... Time!

Several months ago I was in the grocery store when I ran into somebody that I knew. This mom of several active kids (that knew I had lost a lot of weight) looked in my cart and said, "It costs a lot more to eat healthy, doesn't it?"

My response was that it doesn't cost a lot more, but it does take a lot more time.

I got to see that this wasn't the response that she wanted to hear. In her world, time was a more precious commodity than money.

I was thinking about this past event because recently a checkout clerk commented that I was her healthiest customer of the day!

For me, the best way to maintain a healthy diet is to prepare your own food. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where the meat, dairy and fresh produce is located. Stay away from the boxed foods and ready-to-eat stuff. It does take more time to prepare meals but at least you know what you are eating and you keep control of the fats, sugars and proteins.

This is a bit of good news/bad news.

The bad news is that I can't control how much money you have to spend on groceries.
The good news is that we all get the same 24 hours in a day.

There are no rich nor poor when it comes to time.
24 hours.
Nobody gets more time.
Nobody gets less time.
The only difference is in how we manage the 24 hours in our day.

I remember a time when I used cook meat for the week on the weekend. I would grill burgers, brats, pork steaks...whatever on Saturday afternoon and we would reheat and eat after work during the week. I know some people always make double portions and freeze half for the next week. Some people meal share and prepare a meal for their family and another on one night and have somebody else do the same for them on different night.
We have all found ways of multitasking that work for us--folding laundry while watching TV, listening to recorded books while exercising or driving, etc.

Sure, money does give you more options. You can always go out or you can hire somebody to cook and clean for you, but you still only get 24 hours.

24 hours to eat, sleep, exercise, work, play, write, build or maintain relationships, make plans.
We are all equally endowed where time is concerned.
How will you spend your 24 hours today?

Be wise.
Be well,

John <><

90 Days

At some point today, it dawned on me that today is my 90th day of retirement.

I can say that there has not been a single day that I've wished I was at work. I rarely think of work or the people that I once worked with. I have made contact with a few of them, but rarely.

I met one controller to watch the Blues get beat by his team (the Wild). Chris and I have had dinner with another retiree and her husband a few times. I'm meeting a guy tomorrow and I've sent an occasional text to harass a misguided Cub fan.

All-in-all, I'm sleeping better, eating better, exercising more regularly and loving life. I've stayed pretty busy on the ministry front and managed a few magic shows, as well.

Next week I'm planning on a couple of baseball games--Tuesday night at the Springfield Cardinals and a Thursday day game in St. Louis against the Cubs.

Life. Is. Good!

John <><