Christmas

Tomorrow morning it will be here, Christmas. Not long ago it seemed far away. Before we knew it, Christmas decorations began appearing in the stores and Santa was in the TV commercials. In an instant, Christmas trees appeared for sale and now, they're gone. It's Christmas eve.
Now is a time for recollection. It was a good year with those I know and love. And, tonight, the Bishop, a man who thousands know as "Father" and a man who has changed untold lives will celebrate a form of anniversary, because he hasn't always been the soft-spoken, kind person we know and love today. Years ago, on this very night, an old friend of his, long dead, returned and told him that at the first stroke of one he would be visited by three spirits...
You know the rest.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Thanksgiving

   How many of us really sit back and count our blessings? I am guilty of doing it often and when I do, certain faces always appear. The Bishop, of course. He is always there. When I need a shoulder to cry on or someone to scream at, he is there to pick up the tears or tell me when I am wrong. Of course, he has never once told me I am wrong... that's just not his way even though we probably don't agree on a thing except the miracle of Mexican food. But, "In his way of thinking...". God, do I love those words.

   And, I can never count blessings without the Professor's face showing up front and center. He grabs my books as soon as they are written and will honestly answer "what do you like best about the book, least?" He doesn't tell me what I want to hear. He tells me what I need to know. This is a friendship born in Heaven.  God, I love his words.

    I love the friendship of the Deacon, for one main reason... the Deacon is just basically a good man. In reality, how many of those are really out there? Oh yes, I treasure the words of this good man.

    Though his home in the North Woods is too far away to be in the Thursday lunch crowd, I love the words of my oldest friend. I love to remember the days we spent before things got complicated and in a place to which I want to return but can't because it no longer exists. I remember walking along Leonard Street in days before there were wives and children and bills and jobs. I remember just talking and we still do. How many people have a friendship that has lasted over fifty years? I do. 

    Yes, I love to count my blessings and do it quite often, not just on Thanksgiving day. I learned years ago when I called my father from work to tell him Happy Birthday and that I loved him. I didn't know those would be the last words he would ever hear. He died a half hour later. I learned then that telling people you care for them and you love them is one of the most important things a human can ever do. And yes, I love the Bishop, the Professor, the Deacon and my life long friend in the North Woods, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Dan 

Yesterday

   Yesterday was nice, very nice. The four of us were together for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was good. You would think four people would have no trouble setting aside a couple of hours one time a week, but when The Parson has to serve the spiritual needs of over five hundred people, the Bishop has to do the same, the Professor has countless students clinging to his every word and I have to feed the dog and wait on Judy, time becomes very valuable. We know how to appreciate the time we have.
Dan

The Professor

   Today, the Professor gets another year older. I'm certain he will receive accolades from the great men across the country but I just wanted to add my small acknowledgement to the many  that will come his way.
Have a good one, Prof,
Dan

Yesterday

   Yesterday was nice. The Professor, the Parson, the Bishop and I were all in attendance. Yes, it was nice. We solved all the world's problems and scheduled for next week. Unfortunately, the Bishop won't be there. A couple of times a year he likes to slip off to Boston. Of course, I am suspicious of his motives, but then again, why should he go a thousand miles when he has women crawling all over him here? Oh well, not our problem. The Professor and I are just too old and too married for such problems, and the Parson, bless his heart, he's too moral.
Later,
Dan

A Visit

   Had a visit yesterday from my friend from the west woods. It was nice. He looked great and seems to be doing well. The visit went a long way toward filling the void created by not having lunch with the "three P's" this week. I hesitate to use that term because usually when the three P's (Professor, Parson and the Priest, okay the Bishop) hear it, usually it comes out three P's and a Clod. Yea, guess who the clod is.

Thursday

   Yesterday was nice. The Parson was absent and we missed him. He must have had to go somewhere to change water into wine. No, back up on that, he's Baptist. He must have been changing water into grape juice. Hey... it still sounds impressive to me.
Have a good day,
Dan

Yes, I got out of order.

Yes, my fat fingers hit send instead of save. Both blogs are out of order. But, they're numbered. Sorry Dan

The Professor

   When the Professor took a new wife, we were proud of him. She is young. She is definitely beautiful. We were proud of him. But, at a time when his main concern should be an adequate supply of Metamucil and Depends, the Professor begins to think himself invincible. He takes on long-distance biking, endless rounds of golf, and white water rafting, all doubtless of an Olympic class.
    Now, he lays motionless on a hospital bed, the result of a surgeon's attempt to ease his pain. Though we did offer to assist him in his time of need, The Bishop and the Parson were going to pray nonstop. Well, actually, they were going to record a couple of prayers and play them over and over, but we had lots of batteries! And I offered to do the surgery, it would be my first, but every surgeon has to start somewhere.
   But he declined our pleas. Most likely, when he arises, whenever that is, he will be a couple of inches shorter. No, he won't be in pain, but knowing him, his first effort will be to apply for some Triathlon for midgets. (I told you he would be shorter!!!)
   He can't be back where he belongs too soon.
Dan

 

From My Blog

   Birthdays bode different ways for me. My brother died on his birthday, my father died on his birthday, and my grandfather died on his birthday, so, needless to say, I will tread lightly this day. But, my brother died when he was 8, my father died when he was 58, and my grandfather died when he was 68 and today, I have no "8" appearing anywhere, so there's a degree, be it small, of safety.

   Even so, for me, birthdays have been a time to change. Today, I will leave Facebook. Why? Simply because I have never even liked Facebook. I have better things to do than to know that twenty or thirty "friends" who I have no idea who they are, are now "friends" with twenty or thirty other people I don't know. I learned long ago that a "friend" is much more than some name on a computer and I will never be able to measure anything, or at least anything worth having, by how many names appear on some list. Plus, I am simply not the googly-eyed eighteen year old that Facebook was contrived for.  

   And today, my web page will change. When http://www.danweatherington.com/ was first created, I had written two books. Now, that number is eight with two more in the works, a far cry from those first days. Of course, nothing will ever replace the first time I held real book with my name as author and the first time I saw my name on Amazon.com. It was... something second only to when my books appeared on Barnes & Noble.com. To me, Barnes & Noble was the ultimate. Their stores were clean, bright, and a shining example of what a book store should be. And, one day, my book and my name appeared on its web page. Yes, silly as it may sound. I wanted to cry. 

    Just as it appears that ebooks will replace the bound volume, this blog at http://danweatherington.blogspot.com/ may replace my web page. And, like I still cling to the printed book because I like the feel, the warmth and even the smell. I will cling to my first web page simply... because it was the first.

Have a great day, I will,

Dan

Interesting... Interesting...

   Yesterday was interesting. The first time in a few weeks we were all together even though it was quick. We were all there. It was good. The Parson prayed, the Bishop preached, the Professor professed and I just sat there in awe. It was cut quick when the Parson said he had to leave. We tried to push him about why he was leaving early, but then he stood, held his hands in front of him in a prayerful manner and said he had to be about his father's business. When we noticed a warm glow surround him, we asked no more questions.
Have a good one... Dan

Today

   Today, we almost get back to normal. The Professor is back from his bicycle tour of the mountains and should be able to breathe normally sometime today. The Bishop is in the middle salvationizing several dozen children and craves any form of adult conversation when he can get it. Of course, when at least a child a day asks him if he is God it does boost his ego into the stratosphere, but we have encouraged him to at least consider saying "no" occasionally. Long-term, it would be best for the kids.
   My concern is for the Parson. He is still at the beach and being knee deep in all that water with hundreds of people around may just short circuit him. I did check the Bible and wasn't able to find anything about how three foot waves affect baptisms. Guess he can tell us when he gets back.
Have a good day. I will.

Lunch

   Lunch yesterday was... shall we say... unique. It was just the Bishop and me. The Professor was biking through the mountains of Virginia, why? I have no idea, unless it's because he does have a young, beautiful wife and he wants to show her off, which I can't blame him. But, it should be at a Yankees game or political convention, someplace where everybody could see her, not just black bears and rhododendrons.
   And too, the Parson had been called to Tampa, I guess by God to do God stuff. Why Tampa? Like the biking... I have no idea. Maybe now it's Holy Land, Rome and Tampa. Sure changes things.
   Oh well, it was just as well.
   It was just as well, because I was a little down, no, I was a lot down and the Bishop is a wonderful person to be around when you're down. The man has an uplifting way about him. He's a great friend and a great listener. I know deep down inside he's probably thinking for me to 'get a life' but it it was amazing. Two hours later, my depression was gone. It was over. I hadn't written a word in two days, but last night, I wrote a full chapter.
   And, lunch might have been a tad better, if, when he asked me if I felt better and I answered yes, he hadn't sprung to his feet, screamed "yea..us, it's a mirr...uclle" and ran through the restaurant pumping his arms up and down shouting "praise the lord... it's a mirr...ucle". Of course, when he passed around the collection plate, we did get enough to cover lunch and a decent tip, so I can't complain.
   Oh well, we missed the Professor and the Parson, and if the Professor didn't have a heart attack and the Parson wasn't drawn up in some sort of Rapture, they'll soon be back where they belong. Meantime, for the Bishop... Thanks.
Dan

It Couldn't Get Much Better

   Yesterday was a good day, an excellent day.
   The Professor, the Bishop, the Parson and I did the lunch thing. It would have been perfect except when the lady asked for our drink orders, I said "water". The next thing I felt was a kick under the table. The Professor had warned me not to ever use the term "water". He feared just the mention might precipitate an altercation between the Parson, who is an advocate of the full dunk method of baptizing and the Bishop who leans toward the sprinkling school of thought. The Professor prefers lunchtime conversation to be on a much less controversial level, the death penalty, abortion and which is better, M&M's plain or peanut. Personally, I believe the guys are well past such things, but if I had to cast my vote it would be for the Parson. The man gets involved in his baptisms, he puts on chest-high waders to do his thing. And, though I will admit, seeing a guy in rubber waders doesn't evoke religious thoughts, a mental picture of John the Baptist trying to balance a full grown Jesus in his arms over a baptismal font doesn't exactly inspire one to run to the altar either.
    But, in spite of the Professor's concerns, there was no battle. We had fun.  

Oops one more time.

   Yes, you're right. I posted Osama in The Profit, but the correction has been made.
   It was probably because I was deeply immersed in my finest purchase ever. People in Wilson pay the highest electric rates known to man, so even the wealthiest seek ways to cut back on heat. In my wisdom, last winter I bought one of the Edenpure Heaters which, according to the commercial was going to reduce my heating bill significantly. Like most, if not all things, purchased from Infomercials, the thing was an overpriced piece of junk But with it came a "Snuggie". It was supposed to be free with my purchase but when you pay $180 for the equivalent of a 1500 watt space heater you can get at Walmart for $29 bucks, the term "Free" loses it's meaning.
   Well, my "free" Snuggie is fantastic!
    Now, in the summer with temperatures hitting close to 100, my wife doesn't believe the air conditioner is working properly unless the plumbing is freezing up and polar bears are circling the house. During the middle of the night, as I can feel snow flakes fall on my face, that Snuggie is perfect. It is warm. It is soft. It's almost erotic!
   Oh well, the blog has been straightened up. I have my Snuggie. Have a great day!
Dan  

Lucubrate

  I subscribe to Dictionary.com which sends a new word and definition every morning. This morning the word was 'lucubrate'. At first I thought it said 'lubricate' and almost deleted it. Heck, anyone knows what lubricate means. As I reached to delete the post I saw the definition... "To work, write, or study laboriously, especially at night". The lion's share of my work is done at night. All these years I have been Lucubrating and didn't even know it. Gosh... what else will today hold?
   The Bishop and I will break tacos at the 1st hour. He was just awarded the title of Pastor Emeritus at a church where he once, well... pastored. I thought it was a tremendous honor because most of that preacher crowd simply comes and goes. "Who was there in 1995?" "Good question, I don't rightly remember." But they remember the Bishop. Here, almost twenty years later, the people of his old church wanted to honor him. How often does that happen??? Of course, when he was first telling us about the honor, the Professor asked how much the position paid. He never did answer, but it was a good question.
Have A Blessed Day... famous quotation from a greeter at Wal-Mart,
Dan

Today

   This will be an interesting day and it will all be at the computer. The Professor has gone a travelin' to some conference somewhere for the week and the Bishop and I aren't scheduled for lunch until Thursday. I'm now doing three blogs including this one. Several people have said they missed my "thoughts" comments so today it begins. How often I'll do it, I don't know. The Professor once told me if I had a thought, post it. If not, don't worry about it. 
   Book sales are doing well, but I have "Killing Martin Luther" out to twelve agents and haven't heard narry a word. Things are a bit different now. Used to be, you typed up the query, sent it to an agent, he read a sentence or two and since he had a thousand more on his desk to read, the first time he saw a word or phrase that he didn't like, out went a reject letter... "Thank you for your submission, but your book does not fill our current needs"
   Now, it's the same animal, but it's by email and much, much faster. Usually, if you have a bomber, it's rejected the same morning, same day at least. "Martin Luther" has been out for two weeks and not a single notice. Might be something good.
   Do have a great day.
Dan