Waffle Wife

Want a good laugh? I don't usually post links but this one should make you laugh out loud. Be sure you have sound turned on. It's called "My Wafflely Wedded Wife." http://www.flixxy.com/wedding-ceremony..htm.  Funny, Funny Wedding Vows - here
Click either link above.  It's not a virus; it's just a short, funny video. 

Just a Few Things . . .

            A short while back, I received a large manila envelope in the mail, and what a surprise I found inside.

            There was a certificate saying I had been given an honorary membership in the Lutheran Men in Mission in South Carolina.  It was accompanied by a lapel pin. 

            The notation on the certificate said this was given for my service on Synod Council (SC Synod of ELCA) and for my newspaper column! (I usually post a copy of the weekly column on this blog, including this post, and on Facebook.) 

             Imagine that!  This was a complete shock because I’ve only known of three people who read my column.  Maybe there’s a fourth one out there somewhere.

            Anyway, thanks so much to the Lutheran Men in Mission and thanks to the four or so people who read – or at least skim – the column each week.

            Now, on to other matters, specifically this question: If you could create a holiday or observance, what would it be?  The reason I ask is that next week – on the 26^th – we have “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.”  So, what would yours be?

            Quite frankly, it’s hard to think of something that doesn’t have its own day of celebration already. 

            Seriously.  Just in the second half of March, there are days set aside for these:

Pencil Day,

Mule Day,

Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day,

Barnum & Bailey Day,

 National “She’s Funny That Way” Day,

National Mom & Pop Business Owner’s Day,

Pecan Day,

Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day,

Near Miss Day,

National Day of Unplugging,

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day,

International Goof-off Day,

Corn Dog Day,

National Common Courtesy Day

 and even Viagra Day. 

And this is just a partial list.

            Like I said, it’s hard to find something not already given its special day.

            Maybe the four readers of my column can celebrate “Hold Your Breath and Read This Column Day.”   Celebration or not, thanks to you four, wherever you are! 

            So, what would YOUR day be?

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Surprise! It's Photo Hunt on the Web

This week's word for Photo Hunt is SURPRISE.

Harrison was surprised the first time he bit into a lemon.  Can you tell?

To see other Photo Hunt surprises, click here.

Lawyers and Insurance Companies!

(The following is reprinted from The Azar Newsletter, an e-publication of long-time friend Joe Azar.)

Don't know if it is true, but it's a great story of don't-get-mad-get-even.

BEST TRUE LAWYER STORY OF THE YEAR, DECADE, AND POSSIBLY THE CENTURY



. . . .A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire.

Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.



In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of small fires.' The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued - and WON! (Stay with me.)

Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable 'fire' and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the 'fires'.

NOW FOR THE BEST PART...

After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. 

(You reckon there was a politician involved in this whole thing???  Just askin'.)

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Can't Blondes Have Fun -- AND Be Smart?

Some folks are so prejudiced against blondes. Have you noticed?  People make fun of blondes and act like blondes can’t be intelligent or even somewhat smart.
Society frowns on jokes showing prejudices – except when it comes to blondes. It’s not politically correct to tell stories and jokes about religion, sex, ethnicity, age or color, unless, of course, that color is blonde.

I’m here to defend blondes. I am blonde. Or at least I was the last time I saw my roots. Sure, the color is a very dirty, dishwater, almost brown-and-mostly-gray blonde, but it is a blonde of sorts.

Okay, so it's many sorts of blonde. There’s quite a variety of colors and shades in that mixture now.

But back to my original point. Why do so many people think blondes can’t be smart? There are blonde scientists, teachers, lawyers, engineers, authors, doctors, etc.

I’m blonde. I can read and write. I’ve got a law degree. I know how to use a computer. Except when the computer is malfunctioning.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not savvy enough to figure out how to fix any kind of problem if the computer is on the blink, and, recently, my computer was, in fact, on the blink. It totally blinked out.

The manufacturer sent a box for me to use to return the computer and said it might take up to two weeks to repair. Two weeks? I’m lost without a computer. How in the world would I survive for two weeks?

Nevertheless, I dropped off the computer at the designated shipping place and inside the designated shipping box.

Less than 48 hours later, it was there on our doorstep!

That’s because I had shipped it right back to myself!!!!

Now, why is it that some folks think blondes aren’t so smart?



Sherry at the computer!



Do You Know "Whodunit"?

I enjoy listening to audio books when I’m driving, and am especially intrigued by mysteries, thrillers, legal fiction, medical drama and such.

Perhaps, as my son tells me, I should be listening to non-fiction and trying to learn something, expanding my horizons.

But I like what I like. In fact, I like these books so much that sometimes it’s awfully difficult to get out of the car when I get home. I’ve been known to sit in the car just to do a little more listening.

Several days ago, I had to drive a few hundred miles. The book in which I had been thoroughly engrossed came to an end. I didn’t have another new one with me, but did have one that I had listened to a couple of years ago. It’s “The Motive” by John Lescroart.

On cassette tapes instead of the usual CD’s, the unabridged book consists of 10 tapes and provides about 14 hours of listening.

So, thoroughly bored without a new book available, I decided to “re-listen.” I figured that once I got to a part that I recognized and that reminded me about the end, I’d stop listening.

The beginning sounded vaguely familiar; it started with a double homicide in San Francisco.  I listened to side one, then side two of the first tape. By the end of that first cassette, I was remembering parts of the book, but what I couldn’t remember was the ending, as in “Whodunit?”

So I listened to the second tape. I was thinking maybe the culprit was Catherine. As I continued to listen, I couldn’t rule out Catherine but I thought of other possibilities that seemed somewhat familiar: son Bill, ex-wife Teresa, the mayor, daughter Mary. Then I started thinking that perhaps it was someone not even related to the politically connected man who was one of the victims.

But as I continued to listen, going through the third tape, then the fourth, then the fifth, I couldn’t understand why in the world I couldn’t remember the ending. Most of the book was sounding quite familiar.

So, I persisted. I hadn’t listened for several  hours so far to give up on the ending. Next was the sixth, then the seventh, the eighth, and on to the ninth.

It’s when I finished the ninth tape that I realized why I didn’t remember the ending: I didn’t even have tape number ten! I never heard the ending the first time!

Now I’ve listened to 9/10 of a book twice – and still don’t know “whodunit.”

Questions About Peace Prize?

The e-mail message from my son was short: “Any thoughts about this year's Peace Prize?”

Absolutely!!! I definitely had thoughts.

More than thoughts, though, were the questions.

What I question is the nominating process, criteria used and time frame.

According to news reports, Barack Obama was nominated no later than a few days into his presidency. What was the basis for the nomination at that point? Does the selection committee consider only those things done up until the point of nomination, or is it allowable to nominate someone who shows promise or someone who is expected to accomplish certain things?

The prize for literature isn't given to someone because of what he or she may write in the future or for qualities and skills that show promise of authorship. Likewise with the other categories in which Nobel prizes are given. The previous awards have been for something specific that has been discovered, studied, written, accomplished, done.

Was the prize awarded to Obama simply because of his election? Did the committee believe that his election sent a peaceful message to the world? If the award was on that basis, then the committee should have said so.

Instead, the committee said it was “motivated by Obama's initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.”  Had those initiatives been undertaken at the time the nomination was made?

The five Nobel prizes were created by Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will, which designated the peace prize for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."  [emphasis added](http://www.nobelprize.org/) The Nobel prize web site further says that the annual prizes are given "to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

Poland’s Lech Walesa won the peace prize in 1983. When asked by a news organization about Obama’s recognition, he replied, “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far….”

The 1984 recipient, Archbishop Desmond Tutu called this “an award that speaks to the promise of (Barack Obama)…”

One thing is clear. This was indeed a selection made by choice rather than by default. There were 199 nominees this year, the most nominations ever. Among the reported nominees were Colin Powell and singers Pete Seeger and U2’s Bono. Further, there have been 19 years in which no prize was given, including during the two world wars.

Yes, I have questions but I also have hope. I hope Obama will live up to the award and help attain peace and stability.

PH: Surprise!!!!

Surprise is the theme for this week's Photo Hunt. Life is full of 'em!!!!

Several years ago, the folks at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, were surprised to have the tallest soldier and the shortest soldier to ever go through MOS training there at the same time. The short one is Tiffany, one of my daughters.



I was surprised when part of my eBay purchase arrived like this!

I was surprised when I forgot that I was boiling eggs on the stove!

Grandson Harrison is surprised about something!

Sometimes people are surprised to learn how one of my brothers, Shawn, teaches children to water-ski. He pulls them on the ground first, behind him running!




This is Shawn's daughter, Kendall. Can't tell if she is laughing at the joy of skiing or at how tired her dad is getting while doing the running & pulling!

My dad took the easy way out years ago, but folks were just as surprised to learn that he pulled us on skis behind a car!!

~ ~ ~ ~

Photo Hunt participants are throughout blogland. Click here to see other surprises this week!