Oh! I'm going for a ride!

I'm getting ready to meet a friend this morning. We're going for a ride!
I've never traveled with anybody when riding my motorcycle and don't really know what to expect.
I am looking forward to it. It's been a little while since I've had time to talk with this friend and so I'm looking forward to the stops and conversations as much as I'm looking forward to the ride (Well, maybe not quite as much, but you get the idea).

I'm not exactly sure where our ride will take us and plan to be a follower on this one.

Short post today so I'll leave you with this kids' song that I remember from the distant past. There is no motorcycle in the song. Maybe I'll have to come up with my own words for that!

Enjoy the weekend!

John <><

Thursday (in a retired guy's life)

So yesterday was another easy day (aren't they all?).
I had a few things on my phone's "to do" list, but nothing that was a large task of any kind.
I'm a little low on coffee and decided to go out for coffee yesterday. (Actually, picking up coffee for home is still on my list.)

I slept in since I had been up late watching something completely meaningless on TV. By the time I decided to skip making coffee, showered, grabbed my Chromebook and hit the road it was almost 11.
I was trying to pick a coffee shop and thought I'd pick something in downtown Springfield. I was planning on doing a little sermon prep while I drank my coffee.

I was looking for parking when I found a place at Walnut & South for motorcycle parking.
Perfect!
Park the bike, grab my Chromebook, library book and Bible and find a place on foot.

Since it was now 11:30 (lunchtime) and I hadn't had anything to eat yet, I decided that lunch was in order first! I was parked right by Black Sheep burgers and shakes which I had heard plenty about. I ducked in, ordered a Cuban burger (1/4 angus burger topped with ham, pulled pork, cheese and dill pickles) and cracked open my library book while waiting on my order. I skipped the shake (I still hadn't had my coffee) and passed on the fries. Reputation told me that the burger would be enough.

Oh. My!
Yes, the ham and pork that fell off the bun would have made a decent sandwich by itself! I'm glad I skipped the fries and shake (adult or otherwise). I did order a cup of coffee to go with my meal but was still planning on hitting a coffee shop to do a little studying and writing. This will go on my list of places to frequent. There are many more burgers to try!

I left there and walked up the block to the Urban Cup. I ordered a 16oz Americano and grabbed a stuffed cookie, as well. I thought about an extra shot but didn't order it. Then the barista making my drink turns and says, "We usually make the 16oz with three shots but there'll be an extra one. Do you want me to just throw it in?"

I stayed long enough to get some work done then headed out to knock a few things off the list.
Grilled Italian sausage along with a cucumber, onion, tomato salad for dinner, more time reading, a short evening ride and a little late night TV with Chris rounded out the day nicely.

Listen, this retired life isn't for everyone.
Many people tell me they'd be bored doing nothing.
It takes some real discipline to live each day without getting anything major accomplished.
It's like I always say, "Retirement isn't all fun and games. Sometimes it's just fun!"

John <><

Tuesdays are for Trivia

According to Trivia hive, the average woman eats 7 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime!

Wow!

John <><

Cajun humor

I saw this on Facebook.
Any guesses as to which of my blogger friends it made me think of?

John <><

Revisiting the subject of friends

A recent Facebook post about friendships sent me back to this post from last year.
Then this morning I ran across this post on friends.

Hmmm...
Only room for eight people around your death bed, eh?

I guess I'm not too concerned about that. As I wrote in my post, you can only control what you can control. I know that time and distance often have a way of keeping us from being present when others are in need. My own family is spread out across the country and I would not expect that they would run to be physically by my side in a time of need. They still have their own kids and own busy lives to deal with. Sure, they would try to make arrangements to come to my aid if I needed it, but I doubt that will ever really be the case.

I guess we should be aware of the people that we can count on in times of need, but shouldn't we also be aware of the people that can count on us in their times of need -- you know, the people that don't even need to ask; the ones that you just show up because they need a friend and they aren't at all surprised to see you.

I suppose that we all have a few people for whom we would do anything; others for whom we would go to varying lengths of service to be with and comfort or help. In the end, I suppose that my list is pretty short. And I suppose that the list of people that have me on their list is also a short one.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that we are unfriendly. I think that it is possible for us to have large numbers of people that we enjoying being with -- people that are our friends -- with whom we really have no meaningful relationships.

Whom do you count on?
And who counts on you?

John <><

Long Overdue ...

A week or so ago I wrote about needing to read more fiction.
Yesterday I made a long overdue (pardon the pun) trip to the Christian County Library. Although I had thought about making a visit, I wasn't planning on making the stop when I started out for a ride on my motorcycle.

Since it had been years since my last visit, the first thing I did was to see if I would be able to check out books without my library card. In the passing years, they have upgraded their system so it was necessary to check and see if I was still in the system. Yay! I was!

... And I had a 50 cent fine due!
I paid the fine, got a new card and checked out a few books. We'll see how the sitting and reading thing goes. A book and a cigar should go together well and would take 90 minutes or so. I'm not much for reading in bed, but I did for a little while last night. We have plans to be out for the next couple of nights (trivia night tonight and evening plans with friends tomorrow) and it is still baseball season...hmmm, maybe three books in two weeks was a little ambitious.

I'm sure I'll find some reading time throughout the day, but probably not today! Haircut this morning, lunchtime meeting at the Tricounty Baptist office, short ride (if it's not raining), dinner prep and then trivia night.
No worries, though. I have never felt pressured by library due dates. (Maybe that's why I owed 50 cents from years past!)

I do have to say that I was pleased to see that our little library was a hub of activity. There were people of all ages present and all of the computer terminals were active. There isn't a coffee shop or anything like that in our little town library, nor are there funds to support it. I may have to bring my own coffee and sit at the outside benches with a newspaper. Although it is supposed to be the county library, I suspect that it is mostly used by Ozark residents.

I may become a more regular patron.

John <><

Baseball, football, hockey and UFC

Well, rats!

I was hoping to make a weekend road trip on the motorcycle to catch a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. The forecast is showing a likely chance of scattered thunderstorms along the way and I really don't want to set out with a greater than 50% chance of running into one. We'll be on a little trip during their next home stand, so it may be the end of September before I can make it. The final home game on Oct 2 might be a good trip. It will be a day game and so I can make it most of the way home before nightfall. That would be an advantage on the motorcycle.

The local Cardinal team (AA) will be wrapping up their season. I may try to catch one of their remaining games. It's hard to believe that baseball season is coming to an end. I know -- there is still more than a month of baseball left (two for the teams that play in the World Series), but the start of school and football season always seems to be the beginning of the end.

I'm not much of a football fan. I do enjoy watching it, but I don't really have a team anymore. As a kid, I was a huge Viking fan. Today -- not so much. I watch a little college ball on Saturdays and look to see how the Mizzu Tigers are doing, but that's about all.
I usually tell people that I do watch football ...
after baseball season is over ...
if there's not a hockey game on!
I'm actually more likely to watch the close of the NASCAR season than to watch an NFL game on a fall Sunday.

I'm just happy that the UFC doesn't have a season and has fights nearly every weekend.

Today is a beautiful day in the Ozarks.
Time to go for a ride!

John <><

My Ordinary Life... (and Tuesdays are for trivia)

Yeah, today is one of those days.

It's house hubby day at the Hill house in the Ozarks. All of the normal household chores. Laundry (mine, along with towels and bedding. Chris takes care of her own), dusting, floors and bathroom. It's a good day for it since it is overcast with occasional light rain. If the sun comes out this afternoon, I might get ambitious enough to mow the lawn, but I am guessing that will have to wait for another day.

If the sun does come out, I'm more likely to reward my work with a nice long ride.

Chicken drumsticks are thawing and will be cooked and bbq'd on the grill for the evening meal. Maybe I'll swing by the store and grab a couple of earns of corn to go with them.

Yes, friends and neighbors, retirement isn't all fun and games -- sometimes it's just fun!

**********

Btw, did you know that in the 1956 film The Searchers, John Wayne's character Ethan Edwards uttered the words, "That'll be the day" several times. The Duke's use of the phrase made such an impression on Buddy Holly that he ended up using it in a future rock 'n' roll hit song.*
For your listening pleasure:



John <><

*source Trivia hive

What if ... ?

In yesterday's Sunday school lesson we were studying from the book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.
King Saul and his army are pursuing David.

My thoughts strayed from the lesson long enough to wonder...

For much of the ancient history that we read, kings lead their armies into battle. Great kings were also great warriors. Even as the soldiers did battle (think pawns of a chess board), the kings were often at the battlefield, directing the troops. 

In the United States, one of the roles of the President is Commander in Chief of the nation's military.
What if The Commander in Chief, the Congress that declares war, and the Admirals and Generals that provide the strategies of war -- actually led the men and women of our military forces into battle?
I'm wondering -- If the same were true for other nations...
If going to war was more than sending somebody else's sons and daughters into war...
If going to war meant that the President and other national leaders (both ours and other countries') faced death...
Would we (humankind, in general) have fewer wars?
Or would we seek more diplomatic ways to resolve our differences?

Just a thought ...

John <><

What will people think?!

I rarely think about what other people think about.
Maybe I mean to say that I rarely care what other people are thinking about.

I don't care if they think poorly of how might look and I don't think much about how they might look.
To be sure, if they are dressed in an attention getting sort of way, I'll notice, maybe laugh or comment, and then move on. I guess I'm not too analytical when it comes to appearance. I'm more likely to make character judgments on how people act toward others or interact with others.

There is no doubt that people that are physically attractive -- well, attract!
Dress, hygiene and care go into making ourselves attractive, but so do confidence, poise and grace. I would probably be more attracted to a plain Jane reading a book than to a hottie in a mini skirt and boots. Maybe it's because I'm not much of an attention seeker myself and look for others that are not attention seekers.

There are lots of pretty people that post tons of selfies on Instagram, Facebook and other form of social media -- and it's fun to look at pretty people! Personally, I don't really want people to notice me so I do wonder a bit about those that are all about themselves and their selfies. I notice people that talk a lot (don't we all?) and sometimes wonder if it is nervousness, trying to impress people, or just that they are very interested in hearing their own voice and what they have to say -- kind of a verbal version of a selfie.

Interestingly enough, I also notice people that don't talk a lot -- people that only speak when they have something worthwhile to offer. In a group, I might tend to seek those people out -- the wallflowers, the quiet ones sitting alone.

I guess it is a good thing that there are all types of people --
loud, attention demanding people and quiet, leave me alone types
step up and take charge leaders and eager to please followers
impulsive act in the moment people and contemplative think things through people
people that are extremely creative and people that are extremely analytical.

What kind of person are you?
What kind of person attracts you?
Are you a judge by looks person or a judge by deeds person?
Are you a hope people notice me person or a sit in the corner and hide person?

So maybe I lied at the beginning.
I do want to know what you're thinking!

John <><