Setting Us Apart   
    
   Did anyone ever answer the mystery: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

   Here's another one: Which came first, Spirit or matter? Many or most people on earth might say, matter is all that matters.

   Our Creator by his will made the material universe, all of it...light, darkness, water, dry ground, vegetation, lights in the sky, creatures in water, birds, livestock, wild animals and other creatures to move along the ground.

   Then He took some matter aside and formed a man in his image, to rule over the earth. He breathed into Adam, uniting biological life with soul; immaterial that sets the material apart from every other form of animal life. (Janie B. Chaney, WORLD magazine.) 

   Ancient philosophers considered the human body to be of little purpose.

   How we have advanced in our comfy new world. Intellectuals conclude the soul does not exist, and the body is an accident. 

   We ordinary types abuse it with alcohol or drugs, tobacco or cheap food. We avoid exercise, or we stress ourselves. 

   To express our inner self, we add tattoos. When the situation calls for emergency action, we turn to liposuction, skin tucks and such.

   Whatever it takes to communicate via our looks, count us in. Credit, or blame, the guy who made the first mirror.
 

When God created Adam and breathed a soul into him,

He knew that one day He himself, as Christ,

would occupy a similar body 

- with no beauty or majesty to attract us. (Isaiah 53:2) 

   Our merciful Lord is now resurrected and glorified, and will live with redeemed souls in material bodies of perfect integrity, through eternity.

If You're Privileged and You Know It...    

   Clap your hands! Or, take two steps forward.

   The president was Bill Clinton. His secretary of energy was Hazel O'Leary. I owe it to her to have learned what Mom and Dad never taught me: I am privileged.

   At the time of my awakening, I was employed at a massive DOE facility in South Carolina. 

   One fine day our small department of about 30 had a routine, all-day training session in a building outside of town. This day, we went into the back yard, to stand shoulder to shoulder in one line (and we would discover who should feel guilty and who should feel victimized). 

   "If you had two parents," the script went, "take two steps forward." "If a parent graduated from college...earned $_____...owned their home," etc. Get the gist? 

   Or, if your parent(s) fought, drank, went to prison, abandoned you, etc., step backward. Family life can make or break, yes, but...

   I never saw myself as more privileged than my co-workers; in fact, I grew up the youngest, lightweight, socially backward kid. I failed Latin. I struggled through college with determination, not intellect. Then I entered the Army with no stripes on my sleeves, like all other draftees. 
   
   I was hired once, solely for my work ethic. Then again, and again, and once more. 

   So there I was at the end of the exercise, in my final, full-time job, standing "more privileged" than all but two or three of my co-workers. Shocking! 

   People are still doing this stuff. The instructor tells white students, "Every statement I made has nothing to do with anything any of you have done." 

   "If (life) was a fair race, some of the black students would 'smoke all of you.'" 

   I'm so ashamed. 

         Jimmy

70 Years Later     

   Jewish worldwide population still hasn't recovered from the devil's Holocaust. Survivors fought for their own country in 1948, displacing some Palestinians, and 70 years later the enemy of God is still at work.

   Sympathize with militant Arabs if you wish, as does the United Nations, but know this: Satan will not tolerate a people in Jerusalem to receive Jesus, the coming Messiah, if he can help it. 

   Juliet Moses in The Times of Israel asks, "What if (Palestinian leaders) inspired their young to become teachers and Nobel prize-winning scientists, rather than indoctrinating them with hate? What if, instead of storing rockets under hospitals, they built state of the art facilities?" 

   "What if they had a thriving start-up economy that developed (great) technology? What if they commemorated their own Independence Day, and not the 'catastrophe' of Israel's creation?"

   "Palestinians only need to look at Israel to know what they could have had. The Jews chose redemption over (refugee status), triumph over tragedy, prosperity over paralysis, and self-determination over self-immolation." 

   We have another question or two. What if prosperous Israel vacated the entire territory, as they already did in Gaza? What would the Palestinians do with it? 

   There is no evidence they would live any differently than they do in surrounding lands today...as they have lived for centuries. 

   Observe humans. Consider the spirit controlling them.

        Jimmy

   
   

Up with Vocabulary      

   Dear Readers: You are accustomed to routine vocabulary in our blogs because we were instructed in journalism school to write for people averaging 10th grade education. We apologize to those of you with college and advanced degrees. 

   Here are three old-news stories that may be more to your satisfaction:

Doggone Missing Bone    
   Accumulated in years, mother Hubbard advanced to the enclosure to appropriate for her impoverished canis familiaris a calcareous connective tissue. 

   But when she attained her destination the enclosure was devoid of substance. And so, the impoverished canis familiaris experienced a nonexistent delight.

Children Badly Injured  
   Jack absconded with Jill and ascended a natural elevation to acquire a container of liquid oxide of hydrogen (LOH). 

   In one fell swoop, Jack dislocated the anterior division of his body, and Jill in abeyance followed in sequence. 

If at First You Don't Succeed
   Tiny rambunctious spider ascended the liquid oxide of hydrogen conduit. Then LOH descended and forced the tiny rambunctious spider to abdicate its location. 

   At the reappearance of solar illumination, the LOH evaporated, and the tiny rambunctious spider ascended the LOH conduit undeterred. 

😉 

   We sincerely hope our deference to your higher command of language stimulated you. We ourselves didn't understand much of what we just wrote.

       Jimmy

   No Matter What   

   Aging quadriplegic, recovering from cancer, Joni Eareckson Tada asks, 

"Are the struggles of life getting us down? Is the Lord asking too much of us?"

   Here is what He asks:

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God

ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, 

to walk in his ways, to love him, 
to serve the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul,

and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees

that I am giving you today for your own good?

Deut. 10:12-13

   Then the Lord took it on himself to die for us on a cruel cross, paying the penalty for our inability to do all that He asks. 

   He requires belief, trust and obedience...no matter what.

For our own good. 

Modeling Rome?     

   Exhale. The shutdown is over, at least for three weeks. Affected government employees will receive their back pay, and hope this never happens again.

   We don't know if the political will exists for our elected leaders to play nice between now and February 15. When tribes eat, sleep and drink in their own camps 365 days a year, mutual interests may be hard to come by. 

   Psychologists say, if people never associate with those of different viewpoints, none will enlarge their thinking patterns. 

   Edward Watts, in Mortal Republic, tells how Rome's government had checks and balances that led to negotiated settlements. But in time, opposition turned violent.

   When people search for a way out, dictators offer themselves. Well, that can't happen here...can it? 

   While we struggle internally, there is a great divide globally. Take bankrupt Venezuela. The U.S., Canada and a dozen other nations want Nicolas Maduro gone. Russia, China and Cuba back him up. That tells us something.

       Jimmy

Views By the Sea - 2030      
 

Looking to the future, here's our view of Views on this date in 2030.

~

   Greetings. My name is Trey Dee, your new blogger. Jimmy announced his retirement effective yesterday from his nursing home in Orlando. 

   I am the world's first blogger - neither male nor female - made by 3D printing. But rest assured, I will continue to provide scrap for your scrapbook, as did Jimmy. While I am far more intelligent than him, I appreciate the foundation Jimmy laid, the human way. We will continue to build on that, layer by layer.

   My future partner is being constructed, and it will be a suitable helper, made in my image. With that, let's get to today's news.

January 25, 2030

It's Raining Cars     

   The National Traffic Safety Board is recalling 85 percent of flying cars and trucks, refitting them for on-road use. With fatal accidents involving flying, driverless vehicles skyrocketing, heaven knows the sky is not large enough for the growth in traffic, not to mention 70 million drones. 

   At first, flying vehicles alleviated traffic jams and all but eliminated pedestrian deaths. But NTSB's latest count confirms, empty streets and highways must be part of the solution.

Congress Votes to Build Wall

   Congress yesterday voted 435-0 to build a wall on our border with Mexico. Democratic party leaders, assured that years of registering immigrant voters has assured their control of government for generations, met last week to reconsider the decades-old issue.

   A party operative told Views - enough is enough. "It is time," she said, "to secure the border. We don't need any more caravans." 

      Trey 

The Pirates Are Coming!     

   This just in:

   Scallywags have kidnapped the mayor of Tampa, demanding the key to the city. He in turn vowed, "No...we're going to fight to the death, this time." 

   Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla countered with a promise to return on Saturday. The pirates with their cannons will fill Tampa Bay with a massive invasion force. 

   If history is our guide, the invaders will get the key - and party all day. It happens every year. 

Say Again...? 

Interviewer: What's your greatest weakness?
   Candidate: Women. I had an affair with my boss's wife.

Interviewer: Did you bring your references with you?
   Candidate: I tried; they couldn't get off work.

Interviewer: What makes you think you're right for a job at a fast-food restaurant?
   Candidate: I'm great with animals.

Interviewer: Where do you see yourself in five years?
   Candidate: Probably some sort of exotic beach somewhere. 

Questionnaire: Choose one word to summarize your strongest professional attribute.  
   Candidate: I'm good at following instructions. 

Reader's Digest

      Jimmy

Young, Brash & Wrong    

   Gotta hand it to Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, 29. The new U.S. House member from New York is the youngest in her building, but you wouldn't know it.

   Her first day in Washington, she joined climate-change activists in a sit-in outside Nancy Pelosi's office. She makes news most every day. 

   Unlike most of her senior colleagues, she has command of social media. Ms. Cortez has millions of followers, and may teach the oldsters a thing or two about connecting with their constituents. 

   What the mainstream media's current darling doesn't have is command of economics. She says no one should be a billionaire - would that include George Soros? - while poor folks have ring worms due to insufficient food. "It's not good economics and it's not moral," she declares. 

   We already know she's a far leftist, advocating European-style socialism, if not worse. 

   Two things. When governments take excessive amounts of private wealth to spread around, a nation ends up with less wealth to redistribute. 

   Second, we challenge her to name any socialist country where privileged "leaders" are not billionaires, and poor people don't have ring worms. 

Out of Africa   
   Another country heard from. Last week, someone in Seychelles clicked on Views. 

   We found it in the Indian Ocean, more than 900 miles off the African coast. Seychelles has 94,000 people and 115 islands. Looks beautiful, and they don't need a wall. 

   We assume they get the internet from satellite.  

        Jimmy

Rethinking My Thinking         
   
   The NFL has lost some fans - protesting the players who protest.

   Not for that reason, or broken bones...I stopped watching because of broken brains. But, let everyone including stadium vendors and clean-up crews have their livelihoods.

   My exception - keeping one eye on playoff games and the Super Bowl. I spent a few hours Sunday watching parts of the conference championships, both of which went to overtime. Awesome athletes.

   But, the no-call rocked me, not that I'm a fan of either team, or any team. With less than 2 minutes to play, score tied, the Saints almost certain to - at a minimum - milk the clock and kick a winning field goal, it happened. 

   On a third-down pass, near the end zone, a Rams' defender knocked the Saints' receiver into the twilight zone. The receiver's flight may be an NFL record, though still short of the 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk. No catch.  

   Where was the penalty flag? Current rules don't permit instant replay for pass interference. We guess the refs predetermined to let boys be boys near the end, so as not to affect the outcome. Except that they did just that, by default.

   The Saints kicked a field goal, but then the Rams had time to drive, kick a tying field goal with 15 seconds left, and won it in overtime.

   In the joyous locker room, the Rams' law breaker watched a replay, laughing, "Oh, hell yeah! That was P.I." It was helmet to helmet also. Players are coached to interfere to prevent a touchdown, but they get penalized too. Normally.

   An NFL vice president told the Saints' coach he "couldn't believe" no penalty was called. We can believe everyone made money that day, except 73,000 paying customers.  

   Then late in game 2, the Chiefs intercepted a pass, giving themselves a great chance to hold off the dreaded Patriots. But, no, a professional defensive lineman who had years to perfect the art of lining up properly was flagged. Pats keep the ball, score, and win in overtime.    

   Oh, and a coin flip gave the Patriots the ball. After 60 exhausting minutes, advantage offense. Rules of play already favor the (entertaining) offense. College OT rules are more fair.  

   Just call me when there are 2 minutes to play in the Super Bowl. I don't want to miss the confetti shower. 

       Jimmy

   No Secrets    

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.

Ps. 139:1-4

  

Jesus Knows

I know your deeds, your hard work...

I know your afflictions and your poverty...

I know where you live...

I know your deeds, your love and your faith...

I know your deeds; you have a reputation...

I know your deeds...

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. 

Rev. 2:2, 9, 13, 19;  Rev. 3:1, 8, 15  

Three Carousels?    

   You know about coaching carousels. Each football season ends with several head coaches and assistants being fired or otherwise moving to other colleges. 

   Now, there's a quarterback carousel. Most non-quarterback stars excel - eyeing a career in the NFL - as one among several top prospects on their college team.

   Quarterbacks have to be No. 1, or they don't play much. In 2014, Ohio State was an exception. Down to their third string quarterback, they won the national championship anyway, and the healthy survivor got drafted.

   Big time programs collect as many 4 and 5-star recruits as they can. Those "great" quarterbacks relegated to backup are taking a hike of a different kind; they are transferring.

   National champion Clemson is losing two quarterbacks, to Northwestern and Missouri. OSU collects one from Georgia, while losing one to Miami. 

   Another Georgia QB is now at Washington, a former Alabama starter goes to Oklahoma, and Florida State adds a QB from Louisville. 

😏

    Meanwhile, our Views By the Sea scouting staff has discovered that second-string mascots have a carousel. Ha ha.  

   Michigan State's backup spartan transferred to the University of Tampa, where he can wear the same costume. Northwestern's No. 2 wildcat will be at home in Arizona. 

    Minnesota's reserve gopher is upgrading to trojan at USC; Notre Dame's No. 2 leprechaun will be a duck at Miami, while Oregon's newest duck arrived from Ohio State, having turned in his Brutus Buckeye costume.

   Penn State's No. 2 lion will add tiger stripes, hoping to become No. 1 at Auburn. 

   NCAA transfer rules may dog some of the above. And Navy's goat will have to serve his 5-year tour of duty. 

       Jimmy

Street Sax Silent     

   His funeral will be tomorrow at a Baptist church in Cincinnati.

    Max Pierre made his living $1 at a time. He entertained people in Tampa for 17 years, outside baseball and hockey venues, and among late-night crowds. He was 60. 

   Once in Chicago, we passed people on Michigan Avenue drumming on plastic buckets.

   One creative man was dressed and painted in pewter, skin and all. He posed as a statue - we weren't certain - until our grandson placed a dollar in his bucket and the "statue" slowly bowed thank you. 

   We assumed these men had to do this to survive. Not so with Mr. Pierre, who could have done it some other way. He studied music in college, then worked as a street musician in New Orleans. 

   He had begun playing saxophone in fourth grade and never imagined another way of life. He turned down opportunities to play in R&B bands. 

   His mother said, "He was just very good-spirited and loved to play his music. And the people loved him." His brother added, "He made a decent income from his street stuff and never really seemed to worry about anything else."

   Last Thanksgiving, Pierre returned home to Cincinnati and played with the church choir. His mom said members still talk about the time he played, There is a Fountain Filled with Blood.  

   In Tampa, Pierre played in the hot sun, then again outside bars until the last stragglers headed home. He stayed with friends, caught rides, whatever was necessary. 

   This was his connection to the world.

   He joked with sports fans and encouraged kids to dance. He intended to play until his final breath, which followed a brain aneurysm. 

       Jimmy


   
   

Climate Study Yo-Yo     

   Some climate scientists published research showing that the oceans had absorbed 60 percent more heat per year than current estimates, from 1991 to 2016. They said countries need to cut fossil-fuel emissions by another 25 percent, over and above. 

   After Nature published the study, Nicholas Lewis, 
an independent climate scientist, discovered an 
error in the authors' calculations. 
   
            > No increase in ocean heat. 

   Some mainstream scientists covered for the process, "an example of science working as it should ...results replicated by others and assessed."

   But, the study had been peer reviewed and published, error and all, supporting the global warming narrative.

   Lewis became suspicious while reading the first page of the paper. 

   This isn't a statement on global warming, one way or the other. 

   Just that brilliant scientists make mistakes, and they share some of the same inclinations we do...self importance, group think, need for recognition, etc.

Source: WORLD magazine

      Jimmy

  

Inclined to Decline   
     

For your advanced warning, after the fact, 

here are seven stories we may not run with, 

because they are very weighty topics: 

  1. Tampa Bay's Cross-Bay ferry...the watered down version. 

  2. A developing story on the history of film negatives.

  3. Taxing your patience with daily reminders, April 15 is coming.

  4. If you do lose your patience, make sure you are insured.

  5. The time to check the time depends on timing.

  6. Retiring: The art of changing tires.

  8. Goo Gone: Hope for those glued to TV.

  9. Centric: A magician's penny trick explained.

  10. Despot: Washing glasses in debar.

  11. Donut: How we chose our pen name...the hole story. 

             Jimmy

Kennedy & KGB       

   Sunday evening, Mark Levin interviewed Paul Kengor for an hour on FOX News about his research on Washington's communist insiders, dating to the 1930s. 

   The political science professor/author has a documented account of Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy's "collusion" with the KGB during President Reagan's first term. The "Lion of the Senate" hoped to manufacture a case that Reagan's "belligerence" was preventing the U.S. and Soviets from enjoying harmony and good will. 

   Why? Because the late senator wanted to run against Reagan in 1984. We don't know why he didn't, maybe because Reaganonomics was working. Reagan won 49 states that year. 

   Kengor teaches at Grove City College, where two of my nephews and their wives were educated. He told Levin that none of the mainstream media were (or are) interested in the Kennedy story. How revealing, considering the media's incessant drumbeat about Trump "colluding" with the Russians. 

Views & Russians    
   Our blog program enables us to know when a reader in a foreign country clicks on, even if one time only...44 nations so far. We've had at least a couple dozen hits from Russia.

   Now, liberal bloggers accuse us of colluding with Russian bloggers, without evidence. They cite unnamed, former FBI officials, since fired, who claim our failure to block Russian readers is proof of guilt.  

   This is the most insulting thing we have seen on our comments page. Why don't they inquire into our equally rare connections with readers in Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Paraguay and Zimbabwe? 

 😉 

Views & Promises

   We haven't forgotten the special series we promised in December. Due to a vacation, a cold and sore throat, and other obligations, we are behind schedule. It's all roughed out, but you deserve "clear and concise."

       Jimmy

The 'Stupid' Shutdown       

On this subject, we defer to Peggy Noonan, a former presidential

adviser, observer and 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary.

   Both sides, she writes, mostly agree on the following:
* We need to make the border more secure, and less cruel.
* There is a humanitarian dimension, especially for women and children.
* A nation has a right and responsibility to have a border, and rule of law.
* Governing by shutdown is ignorant, cowardly and destructive. It makes America look incompetent, unstable. It tells Americans they're pawns in a game.

   Americans, she says, think neither party has wanted to solve this problem for 20 years. Both played it for their own gain, as if they weren't invested. Republicans don't want to be called racist; Democrats want to look compassionate, with an eye on rewards at the polls. 

   Major donors on both sides don't mind illegal immigration. Some even benefit. The affluent and powerful enjoy feeling liberal, uninterested in how poor Americans view a threat. They can afford protections. 

   Noonan also notes what we don't all agree on:
* The president is unserious. He likes disorder. But this started two decades ago with cynical, game-playing failure. 
* Pelosi and Schumer are just as unserious. Brinkmanship and insults; malice and misinformation; a soap opera. They play to a rising, new base. 

     Noonan: "Who cares (what the wall looks like)? Get it done! Make a deal!"

   "Who cares how both sides spin the outcome? Just solve it! Trade better security for protection for the Dreamers." 

   "Trump's foes become like him to fight him. (When he is gone) we won't go back to normal courtesies, because they have killed the old ways." 

   "Everyone in the pool! Stop this! It's embarrassing. And it's wrong," she concludes. 

Noonan for president!

JD

What the Gospels Omit      
   
   We've been following the weather in Jerusalem for some time. Thursday's high was 52 degrees; low, 36. Yesterday it reached 58, and this morning's low was 41.

   In the New Testament, where is there any mention of cold and snow? We know it snows over there.
 

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. 

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. 

- Isaiah 1:18 

 

   Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be whiter than snow.

- Psalm 51:7

     Illustrations of Biblical people show them in casual robes, short sleeves and sandals. Why aren't theologians asking these questions?

   Was it always summertime on the Sea of Galilee, in Jerusalem, or in Hebron? 

   Was it freezing the night Jesus prayed on the Mt. of Olives? 

   Snow can be a big deal! [As of Sunday morning, nine people have died on the roads.] Friday night, our St. Louis son-in-law needed 4-1/2 hours to get home from work. Yesterday, our son and granddaughter were in Indianapolis for Bible Bowl competition, also along the path of this storm. 

   Was it 36 degrees the night Jesus was born outdoors, in a Bethlehem stable? 

   As a man, Jesus didn't complain about being cold. He focused on teaching us how to live, and about hell, and eternal life. 
___________ 

   Hyssop is a plant that ancient Hebrews used in rites of purification. 

The blood of Christ is our cleansing agent.  

Trusting Your GPS?     
   
   Not all unusual people live in Florida. A woman in Duquesne, Pa. drove her vehicle along train tracks. She was sober...just said to police her GPS navigation app told her to turn there. 

   Following up on earlier Florida reports, a man fleeing cops dove into a canal, then was overcome by the toxic algae bloom. Maybe our new governor ought to rethink his promise to clean up Florida waters.

   Another man stole a peacock, then had to outrun - not the cops - but other peacocks in pursuit. He may have been related to the guy who crashed a stolen car in a field, being held there by a herd of cows until the law arrived.

   Our officer of the year subdued a grocery store robber by throwing cans of Bush's baked beans at him.

   A man who ate too many beans and everything else went to his final resting place in a U-Haul van. Elsewhere, an 81-year-old attacked his tennis partner with a banana. Everyone knows, he should have used his racket. 

   How about the woman on a cleaning binge at 3 a.m.? Her annoyed husband got whacked with a vacuum cleaner attachment. 

   Politicians wanted in on the act. A candidate for Congress said she had been abducted by aliens. A candidate for state House claimed to have graduated from Miami U. Accused of "fake news," she posed for a photo with a diploma - which turned out to be a fake. 

   A candidate for state attorney was arrested for running an illegal lottery. He then told a reporter his campaign was "going great." 

   All this to warn criminals from out of state: Don't try our patience. We have many ways to bring you to justice - cans of beans, peacocks, cows, bananas and vacuum hoses...not to mention gators and pythons for the worst among you. 

       Jimmy

Quotes of the Day      
    
Old one: "No one goes to that restaurant anymore. It's too crowded."- Yogi Berra

New one: (at the southern border, paraphrased) "We see a steel barrier, but we don't see a national emergency. It's rather tranquil..." - Jim Acosta, CNN White House correspondent   ...get it? And did Jim hang around after darkness?

Bold one: "Everyone will have health care...including 300,000 undocumented immigrants. I want to stir every state and the nation to provide Medicare for all."  - NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio     ...Does he not know that existing Medicare itself soon will be on life support? 

Holy one: On a church billboard near us, "We sing hymns." 

This one: "It's not about the money. It's not about a wall. It's about Democrats' hatred for Trump." - Rush Limbaugh

Last one: "Earth's greatest natural resource is the human brain. And it may be among the least appreciated (given the) supposed menace of overpopulation."  - David von Drehle, author 
 

Good News word of the day:

ability

2 Cor. 1:8-9

      Jimmy

All-Around Fun   

   Continuing Operation Birthday, the kids took us to a new county park and museum by Sippo Lake, where my cousin and I had goofed around in our youth. From there, off to Grandma's house. If she was still there, she would have advised us to, "Watch out for the other fellow." 

   Then we showed the kids something: my great-grandfather's farm house, built in 1850. Mrs. Donut always thought it would make a great B&B, until we learned from the homeowner, they occasionally see a ghost, "...and it looks like you!" she exclaimed, turning toward me. 

   Heading north out of Canton, daughter sprung the final surprise. We six were heading to Greenville, Pa., my hometown, where my older sister resides. 

   She didn't know we were coming, but her "kids" knew. Good thing she had her house cleaned that afternoon. Surprise!!! 

   The final day, my birthday: nieces, nephews and their children appeared - a grand family gathering like in former years. My Georgia niece later described the day as, "love, joy, hope, peace, laughter, tears and all-around fun." 

   From start to finish, from sister to the youngest great-granddaughter, 28 people made our week very special, and it was a good time for them. 

   Next day, daughter and son took us to the Pittsburgh airport and set us free. 

   We've been wondering...how is it this could be so enjoyable, emotional and locked in our fond memories? Being with loved ones, yes.

   Maybe, it was a return to childhood - when parents had the responsibility, kids in the back seat, going to exciting new places. 

   It was awesome - the role reversal - wondering where mom & dad were taking us next.

      Jimmy

Role Reversal Works for Us   

   Approaching our milestone birthday - second digit, 0 - the "kids" up North determined we could best celebrate if Mrs. Donut and I did the travelling.

   What? Leave Florida in December and fly to the Arctic Circle? Worse, they bought us one-way tickets. Once captured, would they throw us into a rest home?

   They paid for the trip; they made the rules. Okay, we landed at CVG (Cincinnati) on Christmas Day. Son No. 2, daughter and son-in-law hauled us to Dayton.

   We expected to be in the hotel five nights. December 26, we spent time with daughter, a birthday girl herself. We also relaxed at the home of son No. 1, his wife, our favorite (and only) granddaughter, and grandson. And their dogie, which assumed our purpose in life was to entertain her. 

   Next day, we visited and dined with daughter's son, wife and our two great-grandkids. That evening, the commander of Operation Birthday told us to check out at 9 in the morning. No further details.

   With daughter and son No. 2 in front, Mrs. Donut and I in the back seat, like children, we headed northeast. At noon, we descended the west hill into Massillon, a community we often visited in the 1940's and 50's. 
   
   They pretended to look for a fast-food place, then pulled into a nice restaurant named for Knute Rockne, who played pro football in town over 100 years ago. Our kids left the table. 

   The next faces we saw were my niece and husband, who live in Georgia. This was getting interesting. 

   After lunch, we six trampled around an old family farm. I had never seen it, but my son scouted all this out the week before. 

 Tomorrow: On to Sippo Lake and a surprise for Sis

      Jimmy

Jumping the Line      

   Do you remember the first day on your job, going before TV cameras, demanding the CEO be fired? 

   And on Day 2, you expected a seat on the board of directors. And the day after that...

   Fantasy Land is alive, in Washington DC. 

   First, convince a few thousand people to vote you into the U.S. House. Take the oath and open a bank account to receive the first deposit on your $174,000 salary. 

   Barring a high crime, you can't be fired. You can be brash, mouthy, uncivil, potty mouthed, assertive and audacious. 

   We're just describing the "fresh" women now in Congress! You may rankle old timers, but voters and political orgs will back you.

   Maybe Congress needs a kick in the butt. Its approval rating is in the basement, between 8 and 18 percent - about three floors below people named Trump and Clinton.   
     Will the 100 or so new House members shake things up? Will they storm the castle and lock the Democratic leadership team - average age, 78 - in the tower? 

   While most congressmen and women wait years for prime committee assignments, progressives push for immediate access.

   Remember the Tea Party? Many go there to change Washington; many end up becoming Washington. 

   What of it?

   In business, results matter. Accountability counts. Does anyone - other than the boss's son - keep his job with a performance rating below 18 percent? 

   In government, especially Congress, words matter more than deeds. If the incoming class is a sign of our future, and if they eventually control the private sector, jumping the line will become the new American way.

   And "communist" China - not so socialist, really - will dominate the world. 

       Jimmy