Forty-Four Years and Counting

 

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The Selfie Culture

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  It never ceases to amaze me, whether in the supermarket, sporting events, on the street, during worship or even at funeral services, people seem driven to take pictures of themselves at every given opportunity. 'Selfies', as they are known, permeate the airwaves and digital footprint of media, including television stations, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so many more. It is as though a picture of a sunset alone is never going to be enough, it can only be made better if our faces frame the picture! Oy! On the one hand, a selfie is a step higher on the palatability scale than a picture of a plate of food yet, on the other hand, most folk do not have the required equipment for a 'good' selfie, a 'selfie-stick', which extends the cell phone farther from those being photographed, thus making the 'un-sticked' selfies almost exclusively close-ups. No one wants to be that close to me, not even my wife and kids.  Is it subliminal narcissism which drives us ...
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Farmers Talking About Rain

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Storms swept through the area a little while ago and, as I went out to check the rain gauge, a wry smile crossed my face as I wondered how this would be reported by the area farmers. Looking at the gauge I mused: The realist would report that we had eight tenths of an inch of rain; The optimist would report that we had eight tenths of an inch, yet the way the ditches were running we probably had a bit more than that, but the gauge just couldn't get an accurate measurement; and, The pessimist would report that we received less than an inch of rain, even though God knew we needed more in anticipation of Spring planting. It is all a matter of perspective, mixed with a sense of relationship to the dynamic world in which we live, and liberally side-dressed with enough 'one-ups-man-ship' so as to appear sufficiently knowledgeable without giving away an unspoken bias. How much rain a farmer either receives or needs at any one moment on the farm is generally directly related t...
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How Do You Look?

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Have you ever wondered how you look in someone else's eyes? A fair number of people I know keep that concern close in mind as they select the clothes they wear, have their hair done, think about where they might find themselves - and with whom, and even as they choose what fragrance to wear. All that - for what one imagines others might see and perceive. Truth of the matter? Far more people will see you than you will ever know and, to a great extent, they will draw conclusions about you and who you are more by what you do and how you treat others, than by any personal appearance or attitude you work so carefully to project. Don't believe me? Consider this picture. Our farming neighbor across the fields, Judy Feig, sent this picture to me last evening. Seems she was outside their home and caught a glimpse of the setting sun reflecting off the barn at my brother's place and just could not pass on taking a picture and sending it to me. Oddly enough, though, Judy told me that t...
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