This morning I was summonsed for jury duty.
Jury Duty.  When you get the notice in the mail…. you kind of hope you don’t have to show that day.  You know.  They have the “hotline” you can call the night before… so see if things are a “go” for the next day.

I called last night.  All systems were go this morning.   I reminded myself, that I am very glad to be an American.  I am thankful to be live in a free and democratic society.  And….. this is not so much a duty as it is an honor.

So off I went.  This is about the third or fourth time I’ve been asked to serve…. since I registered to vote when I was 18.  But every time, the deal has gotten cancelled.  Today…. the gavel would fall.

About 35 of us shuffled into the courtroom and filled the seating area, which reminded me of the church pews at Our Lady of Mercy Church.  We sat, and we waited… quietly, and awkwardly.

This is when I started taking stock of those around me.   We were from all walks of life…. young, old, fat, thin, clean, dirty, rich and poor.  However…. with no basis on those previously mentioned “pigeon holes”…. I could certainly pick out the ones that did NOT want to serve.

The lawyers, and clients, and bailiffs, and recorders….. all came in and found their places.  Finally…. HERE comes the JUDGE.  And so it begins… the jury selection.

They only need eight.  They called the first octet.   I waited in the wings.

The process was very interesting… the questioning, the objections, the disqualifications, and such.

Now.  There was one guy… who definitely did not want to be there.  He was one of the first eight.  He kept closing his eyes like he was having a hard time staying awake.  Then…. they asked if anyone had any conflicting work commitments.  He raised his hand and said he was a Handyman.  Self-employed.  Trusted no one else with his work.  He was handy.  His name was his word… and… his mind would be elsewhere. He might be able to be making money today, in fact.    A few questions later… “Will anyone have trouble sitting in the jury box for the remainder of the day, and some of tomorrow?”  Same guy…. unfolds his arms from his chest and raises his hand.  He has back problems.  Bad back problems.  He couldn’t sit there all day… no way.   “Not at all?”  Welllll… he would be able to….  if he had some pain medication, but he isn’t much of a pill popper.

Needless to say… he was the first one out the door.  The sleepy-yet-busy, non-pill-popping handyman, with a lot of pride, and an equal amount of debilitating back problems.

The selections continued.  There were eight people and an alternate who were chosen…. all highly qualified to serve on the jury… and each one seemed quite willing to do so.  I commend them.

My name wasn’t called throughout the process.  There about 12 of us remaining in the church pews.   And once the jury was selected… they dismissed the rest of us.  They paid each of us $10 and off we went.  So help me God.

I got on with my day, and all the “things” that I had to do.  But I truly would have been glad to stay and be a part of the judicial process.

Besides that…. it was a triple-axe-murder case… and my curiosity was peaking through just a bit.

Dang…. and those defendants looked like such nice people.

“Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” – Albert Einstein

“I’m going to let God be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell.” – Joel Osteen

The things you see in the news these days.  I mean, really…. NOTHING should surprise us.  I just read a story in THE WEEK, about a Performing Arts / Orchestra Group in North Carolina.  They were led by a gentleman named Agnew Peyton, I think.  Anyway…. I guess this fella was NOT so great.  Sordid past and all.  Besides that…..this guy was really a second-rate-two-bit director of this smaller town orchestra.

The article went on to say that one of the percussionists….. who played the cymbals …. was equally as bad.  In fact… no talent whatsoever.  He never crashed them together at the right time. So one day at practice…. the conductor said, “If you don’t get it right this time I’ll kill you.”  (Witnesses… and such.)

When the time came for the percussionist to get it right, he didn’t.  Flat out missed his cue.   And so the director pulled out a gun and shot him dead.  On the spot.  Ka Pow.

You know the drill.  The police came and arrested him and eventually the conductor ended up on death row. An unfortunately… in NC…. he was sent to the electric chair.

So his execution was set for one day last week, I think.  And.  As the crowd watched, the Executioner flipped the switch … but nothing happened. Everyone wondered what when wrong.  Big SNAFU, apparently.

But the director sat in the chair and shook his head.  He knew what went wrong. Saddened by all that had taken place, he said, “I never was a very good … conductor!”

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”  Aristotle

Sometimes, I think….. that I would like to know some of the grand secrets of the Universe.

Like what.. you ask?
Now how the heck would I know?  They are secrets.
But then… I think…. maybe I DON’T want to know those secrets.  Maybe, my little human brain couldn’t handle how incredible and elaborate things are….
Truths. Conspiracies. Theories. Wonders.   Like Roswell. Or JFK’s Assassination.  The Pyramids or Easter Island.  E=mc2.  Bigfoot.  Bermuda Triangle.  Donald Trump’s Hair.  Atlantis.
Or what about …. those things that we cannot sense as humans.  But every now and again… we get very small glimpses of.  The other worldly.

And then I look up and see the ultimate and fragile beauty of the apple tree.  So simple, and at the same time… so complex.

It is in those moments… when I am pretty sure….  I’m better off NOT knowing those universal secrets just yet.

As sure as God made little green apples.

And I’m not even sure about that.

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”  ― Arthur C. Clarke

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”  ― Marcus Aurelius

Picnics.  Games. Celebrations.  Community.  Shhhhhoooooo wweeeeee.  What more could you ask for on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?  Today, we celebrated the HIT Foundation 10 Year Anniversary.

And here are some of my little observations on the day.

HIT Foundation = Home Is The Foundation…. a great community organization which provides affordable housing to those who are seeking it.  Because everyone should have  a good place to live.  A place to call home.  I can’t tell you how incredible this has come to be for quite a few families in our area.  In short…. it ROCKS.

So… today we all gathered at Ft. St. Clair in Eaton, Ohio.  We ate fried chicken, coleslaw, and biscuits and such.  Heck.  Biscuit Boy was even there!  He is a good little food patrolman.  He rats people out for speaking with their mouths full.  Myself, included.

Anyway… lots of food and fun.  We had games.  Yes.  Competitions of all sorts.   I was in charge of the Hula Hoop competition.  I’ve come to understand something about the Hula Hoop.  There is no in-between.  You either have it… or you do not.   Kind of like that genetic thing where certain people can curl up their tongues… and others just look like they are epileptic when they try to do it. Hula Hoop.  Same thing.

Anyway… at every good park is a good creek.  Well…. we found it.  I dropped a small child in the mud.  Accident.   Honest to goodness.   I assure you.  However….  I rescued the little mud slug. And… and… and…  his mom will probably be cursing me at laundry time.   He was more mud than not.

Anyway…. no good creek would be good without a good Craw Dad.  Now.    Here is my big question for the day.  Why Craw Dads?  Certainly there are Craw Moms.  But no one ever goes creekin’ for Craw Moms.  And once they catch one….. it is ALWAYS a Craw Dad.

How do they know?

I looked closely at this one.  I couldn’t tell one way or the other…. yet… was wearing little Red Pumps.  Could have been a girl… but the evidence is not conclusive.

So the world keeps spinning…… with that…..  are my observations on the day.

And tonight…  Biscuit Boy is full….. Hula Hoops remain elusive for some… a Craw Mom is enjoying the peace and quiet of a creek….

And a lot of families are in their homes…. good homes…. with a place to call their very own.

“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” – Confucius

Everybody knows Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.

However… Old Tired Barrels will fall down… and they can’t get up.

Some days I am the Weeble.
Some days I am the Old Barrel.

I don’t know why.  It is just that way.

And that is all I have to say about that.

No more questions, please.

“I wish I had an answer to that because I’m tired of answering that question.” – Yogi Berra

This is Ted.
He is a Magician.  Ted the Magnificent.

He decided to branch out with his artistic endeavors. Magic was good… but it left him guessing most of the time.

So….. he decided to open an Origami Store uptown.  Unfortunately….. not a great idea.  It folded.

Time was wasting.  Magnificent Ted needed to move on to other things.  He would find something he liked.

Welllll…….. He liked to eat Peppermint Patties.  He came up with his own recipe, and started mass producing the little candies.  Wouldn’t you know?  He made a mint.

However,  the Peppermint Patty People sued him.  So Ted was down on his luck again.

But since luck and magic go hand in hand…. he gave it another try.   However, he still harbored a lot of anger over his past mishaps.  In fact… Ted the Magician got so mad he pulled his hare out.

Don’t fret though.  Things got better for Ted.  He tried his hand at Inventions.  In fact.  He invented a brand new broom…. and now…. it is sweeping the nation.

“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” – Dalai Lama

Consider the fact that there are about  7,170,700,102 people on the planet and counting.

For whatever reason, I have had great luck in meeting people on the big blue ball.  I mean… look at those numbers…. it IS a BIG place.  And there ARE an awful lot of people.   So it is some kind of miracle when we meet one person that has a significant impact on our lives.

Let alone… three…. or a dozen… or forty-three of those people.  Or perhaps…. other good beings.

For instance.  About 28 years ago… I was extremely lucky to meet my best friend…. and kindred spirit.  A good day… that was.
My life has been painted with really wonderful parents, and great siblings.  Some very incredible friends.  And.  I can’t forget all those marvelous dogs.

So tonight, I simply feel fortunate to be surrounded by good encounters.  Close connections.  Kind and generous and caring people.

I think life would be a very dark sky… if it weren’t for all the bright stars which fill it full.

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” – L. Seneca

The Human Senses are a magnificent thing.  Truly.

But the one I am thinking of this evening is the sense of smell.  It can really overpower you at times.  For the good, or the bad.  Depending.

Now I think some people are more affected by smell than others.  I would put my nose in the “pretty dang sensitive” class.    I attribute part of this to the shear size and magnitude of my schnoz.

All of us like things that smell good.  Fresh baked apple pie.  Foreheads of newborn babies.  Healthy pine needles.  Bread baking in the oven.

I like all sorts of nice smelling things.  One of these can be perfumes (colognes).  On the other hand, they can go terribly wrong.    The same scent on  one person can smell totally different on another.  But is is BIG Business.  I’ll tell you that much right now.  People will pay through the nose for it.

Let’s visit a few of the old-school standbys.  Old Spice.  Now Old Spice probably smells incredible on about 4 people in the world.  Somehow word got out… and everyone thought they could wear it.  And see what happened?  (AND…. do the same people who make Old Bay Seasoning make Old Spice.  The names and package designs seem similar to me.)

What about BRUT…… by Faberge’.    I think the same is true of BRUT.   On a handful of people, it probably smells like paradise.  On the rest… it smells like my crusty old Uncle Perry…. dipped in Lysol.    (A question about BRUT…. by Faberge’.  Is it the same people who make the Faberge’ Eggs?  And if soooooo….. why on earth, I ask you…. WHY?)

Since we are on the subject.  What ever happened to Estee Lauder?  And is Avon still around?

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Chanel No. 5.  Another one of those “not for everyone” perfumes.  Marilyn Monroe once said it is the only thing she wears to bed.  Well.  SHE could get away with it.

Oh the Olfactory Nerves.  Such a complex topic with so much to consider.  But in all actuality, it is a plain as the nose on your face.

“All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The flower on the left could represent the past.  Shriveled up and all but gone.
And the one on the right…. the future.  Budding, not yet in full bloom.
Both are pretty big parts of the proverbial “Bouquet of Life”
But the fact of the matter is….. the only thing that truly exists is that little space in between the two.  And that….  would be the present.

Which in truth is where we spend ALL of our time.  In this moment.  Right now, right here.  In this place in time.

Sure …. that’s what Mr. Zen and Chicken Noodle Soup for Souls all say.  But let’s get down to brass tacks, dang it.

Now for me… I spend way too much time worrying about what happened to the shriveled up orange flower on the left.  And an equal amount of time worrying about what might happen to that not-yet-blooming purple flower on the right.

Oh… I know I SHOULD be there in between… stopping and smelling the roses and all that jazz.  And I TRY to do just that.

Be as it may…  I don’t.  Worry is my middle name.
Physically, I am here in the present.
Mentally, I am time-traveling as fast as I can petal.  And that’s the truth, bud.  So.  Before this topic stems into something totally different, I better cut it short.  Time for me to branch out…. and leaf.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha

“The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” – Albert Einstein

We never went to the County Fair when I was growing up.  At least, not that I can ever remember.  In fact, I didn’t realize there were such an entity until I moved to Preble County as an adult.

So. I don’t know why I have such a love of a good county fair.  The corn dogs, no doubt.  And I love games…. and dropping ping pong balls in goldfish bowls.  Horse races.  Overstuffed sandwiches.  Deep fried everything.  Kids competing in 4-H Shows.  Blue Ribbons on Homemade Pies.  The smells, the sights, the blinking lights.

And then I get really sad when the whole shebang packs up and rolls out of town.

It makes me weep to see the dancing bears… all tied down on the back of a flat bed.. and headed for the highway.  I love them so.

Dang I’ll miss you dancing bears.

Isn’t that how it goes though?
When something leaves……  we miss it.  Terribly.

“Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” – Douglas Adams

“Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul, that you never knew was missing.”  – T. Tasso