Fortunately our church hasn’t fallen into this pit.  (Thanks to Lynne for the reference.)

On Thursday, May 16, I mailed an envelope by certified mail at our local post office.  It was to go to White Cloud, a town 115 miles due west of here.  I could have driven there in two hours.  This is the route it took from here to there:

Midland
Detroit
Grand Rapids
Wayland MI (I don’t even know where that is)
Grand Rapids
Catano, Puerto Rico (yes, Puerto Rico)
Grand Rapids
White Cloud (today, May 24)

And this, my dears, is the government that wants to run the nation’s health care system.

BRAGGIN’ ON THE GRANDSONS

An article that appeared in our local paper last week:

They spelled our last name right two out of three times, and 66 2/3% accuracy is excellent for our local paper.  Historic, even.

David likes entering these competitions, and he often takes third place.  He says he’s going to have to find competitions that pay more for third place.  Good job, David.  I proofed the paper for him, and it was very well written.  It had good ideas for improving education in Michigan, but alas they will never be put into effect, given the power of teachers’ unions and our politicians.

Stephen, meanwhile, was accepted at Northwestern University and also received an appointment to the Air Force Academy.  After much thought, he’s decided to go to Northwestern and major in mechanical engineering.  We would have supported either decision, but we must admit we’re pleased with his choice.

We’re proud of both these young men and delighted to call them our grandsons.

By the way, David and Stephen will be the fourth generation of male engineers in our family.  Still no female engineers, but we have the little girls coming along and who knows – one of them might pick up the banner and run with it.

IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHOSE OX IS BEING GORED

Well, you just have to laugh.  The mainstream media have been in Obama’s pocket for years, ever since he came on the scene.  They got him elected and have protected him ever since with all manner of excuses.  But now, now he’s spying on them – he’s checking their phone calls and finding out who their sources of information are.  Now, now they’re all atwitter and all outraged and yelling First Amendment all over the place. 

Yes, you just have to laugh.

A “TWO-FER” DAY

Today is not only Mother’s Day but also Barb’s birthday.  The two coincide every few years, and I understand she was born on Mother’s Day.  We gathered at her house for a delicious lunch prepared by David and Catherine and then visited with Richard (who is still working in Augusta GA) via a Skype-type hookup.  What a wonderful age we live in where absent family members can join in a celebration.

Barb’s family gave her two semi-dwarf cherry trees.  Here you see Barb with the trees and Richard on the screen.

Catherine made a wonderful gluten-free cake and decorated it in a special way.  It tasted as good as it looked.

Happy birthday, Barb!  It was great spending part of it with you. 

David and Catherine are home from college – David’s third year and Catherine’s first at Michigan Tech.  We went out to dinner with them and Barb last night and then back to their house for the first bonfire of the season.  David is home for a week and then goes back to Michigan Tech for six weeks’ preparation for a six-week stint in India working on a water project.  Catherine will be working at the home games of the local baseball team, the Loons.

Spring has finally sprung in Michigan, and the days are beautiful.  We earned them.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT PETA IS THAT THEY’RE SO …

… sensible

Let’s all band together to stamp out “executive insect execution.” 

Perhaps it’s best not to mention that I just finished spraying around the perimeter of our finished basement to kill the creepy crawlers that like to move in.  And that I do it every month.  No, no need to mention that at all.

The other day USA Today had an article titled, “Wanted: Millennials Who Know How to Interview.”  It told how some  young people in this age of high unemployment and a sluggish economy interview poorly and even bizarrely.  Some recent grads text or take calls during interviews, dress inappropriately, use slang or overly casual language, and exhibit other oddball behavior. It causes recruiters to rule out otherwise qualified candidates.  It’s thought that many young people have stunted social skills from all their tweeting and texting.

Examples:  A graduate student seeking a management position took a call on his smartphone during the interview. The call wasn’t an emergency, and it ruined his near-certain chances for a job offer.

A man in his late 20s brought his father to an interview.  The father of another applicant called to negotiate a higher salary after his son was offered a job.

A college senior brought her cat into an interview.  She put the cat on the interviewer’s desk and played with it.  Surprisingly, she didn’t get a job offer.

Hey, 18 to 34-year-olds, study the art of the interview, why don’t you?