Dental Month

The month of April seems to have been National Dental Month at work. Several people had dentist appointments and missed part of a day or a whole day depending on the situation. The most recent was mine. I just had a regular cleaning. Nothing was bad; nothing was out of place or ridden with holes. Just a normal, run-of-the-mill cleaning. I guess it's the "horse teeth" I have been blessed with. I still don't know how that moniker turned into something to be proud of, but nevertheless it is!

Most of the others were just cavities that had to be filled or refilled. One co-worker came into work looking like a twin of Governor Bev Purdue. Because of the Novocaine, her mouth was in the same posture as our illustrious governor's since she's had some sort of nip and tuck on her face. Trust me. It wasn't meant to be a compliment to the co-worker. Thankfully, her condition was temporary unlike Bev's plastic, line-in-the-sand puss.

The icing on the dental cake, however, was from another co-worker. She had been going through life for the past 3 months or so with a toothache. She kept saying she would tough it out. Well, last week, the tough left her. She didn't get any sleep that night and decided to go to the dentist to have it looked at. Come to find out, it had been somehow damaged and it needed to be pulled. So she had it pulled. Not that out of the ordinary. The next day was where the incident turned very strange. She returned to work and brought her tooth with her in an envelope!!! And then she showed it to everyone!!! An almost 50-year old woman bringing a pulled tooth into work to show her co-workers as if we had Show-n-Tell like first graders!! My boss declined her offer. I snidely glanced away. She thought it was grand! Whatever!

All in all, it was more than I could chew!

2+2=4

I don't know about the rest of you out there, but in my own little world, the sum of 2 and 2 is 4. Time tested. Retested. Proven. Logical. But lately, I have noticed many people in the world that seem to lack that same logic. Today at work is a prime example.

Example 1: A certain individual in another state called to get tracking on a particular part. I looked at the paperwork for the order and noticed that it was ordered late in the afternoon last Thursday for second day air. Now logic should play a role here because when one places an order late in the afternoon, it is after the cutoff for shipping and therefore would not ship until the next day. In this case, the next day was Friday. Second day from Friday is Tuesday (shipping time, not real time!). I called him to explain that little timing issue and he was a bit ticked because I didn't have a tracking number. I explained to him that the part would be delivered today because today was the second day and that if he had wanted it Monday, it should have been ordered next day air. He still insisted on a tracking number.

Rolling my eyes, I hung up the phone and proceeded with a few more important demands cluttering my desk before getting his tracking number. Lo and behold! What did I find?? The package was out for delivery today! Isn't that amazing how that works??? I called him back to inform him of the package's imminent arrival and he explained (kind of sheepishly) that he wanted to show his customer some proof. Why? Did he think that because his logic was very faulty, that the customer's logic would be faulty too? Hmmm....scratch that question. Too obvious.

Example 2: Another individual called about an engine. He proceeded to tell me that his customer was ordering a regular Chevrolet truck engine but was putting it in a airboat. He knew there would be no warranty from the supplier because it was not being used for the correct application. Sound logic. However, the same individual's logic quickly eroded away to nothing with his next question. He said, "Can you find out how much discount on the price they will give because there will be no warranty?" What??? Why would anyone expect a lower price on an engine just because there is no warranty?? The customer is the one assuming all the responsibility for something that could go wrong when he chose to install it in a totally different application. The price for the engine is the same regardless of the vehicle where it's installed. Eyes rolled again.

As you can well see, the everyday reality of logic seems to be an ancient relict viewed by the outside world through a very narrow opening in the new exhibit at the museum. It's pretty to look at, but they can't quite reach out and grasp it. It's a shame. Logic is very much needed in everyday life. Without it, life makes no sense at all.

I wonder what color the sky is in their world...

True Reality

Today's sermon was on the subject of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. It's a well-known story and even people that have no knowledge of the Bible are familiar with it. When the pastor was preaching about it today, one thought really stuck in my mind...

God's reality is not our reality.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, the family was still grieving and were questioning why Jesus had taken so long to arrive. After all, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. What could He do now? If he had only arrived sooner, He could have healed their brother. Their reality was death and stinking flesh. They knew there was nothing anyone could do to bring him back from the grave

But then Jesus told them that He delayed His arrival that they may know who He is. His reality was far different and the only real reality. After being taken to the grave, He commanded the stone to be rolled away. Martha, one of Lazarus' sisters, again questioned Jesus on His actions. He gently reminded her Who was in charge. After a short, thankful prayer, He called out in a loud voice for Lazarus to come out. What happened next was, I am certain, very shocking for all the witnesses. Lazarus, bound from head to feet in grave clothes, appeared at the door. He couldn't walk out because his feet were bound. I am sure it was a little frightening to them to see him suddenly appear in what I believe to be in a levitating state. But he was alive! Jesus Christ had reversed the decaying process. After four days of tissue breakdown, this man who was dead and rotting was now alive and well.

When we are going through life and storms suddenly blow out of nowhere to pelt us with high winds, stinging rain, and damaging hail, we only see and feel the storm and are frightened. When the sun shines brightly and everything is going "our" way, we are happy and content. When some tragedy strikes without notice, we become angry and bitter. That's our reality. But it's not the true reality. Only God in His infinite wisdom can see it now in its complete form. We focus on our circumstances whether they are good or bad but fail to see what is really happening or comprehend why it's happening and turn to despair or anger. When we allow God to work in and through the circumstance, we begin to trust in His reality and being to understand just a little more of who He is and what He wants for us.

Lazarus was brought back from being a rotten corpse to breathing air as a newborn. Do we expect less of God today? He's still the same. Let's being to see through the eyes of God.

Odd Cities

In my line of work, I have to place orders and have them sent to several different towns and cities in the Southeast, Midwest, and in some of the Northeast. Most of the cities have "normal" sounding names like Marksville, LA or Richmond, VA. However, during these years of ordering, I have noticed some unusual names for towns and cities that is a part of my area. There is Weeping Water, NE (Wouldn't you want to live there? It sounds so inviting!), Red Cloud, NE, and Friend, NE. Kansas has Tonganoxie and Wamego while Mississippi has Yazoo City. Waumea is in Florida, as is Okeechobee.

But I have also noticed some very not-so-imaginative names as well. These cities and towns just sound ho-hum. Places like Paris, KY or Geneva, AL are deceptive really. The state with the most of these uninspired cities seems to be Missouri. They have Pacific, Louisiana, Mexico, Glasgow, Normandy, Milan, and Nevada. Were the founders of these places having a huge dearth of original ideas when naming these towns? Maybe the founders were from these areas and missed their homes? Who knows? Naming towns after other countries, world-renown cities, or other states just seems silly to me. (In Missouri's defense, they do have original or pleasant sounding names like Mountain View and Chillicothe.)

It would be interesting to find out the history of these town names, both original and unimaginative. Maybe there is an understandable reason behind naming a town Mexico...

Until then, check out Lizard Lick, Turkey, and Whynot, North Carolina!!

Pollen Central

It's official! It's time again for the annual saturation of the air with millions of grains of pollen. And, believe me, it is not being timid at all this year! It seems that April 1 opened the floodgates and over the weekend, the air really filled with the tiny packets of sperm and covered every open surface whether inside a "closed" car, the sidewalks, or your nostrils.

We cough it. We hack it. We snort it. Everywhere you turn you see and feel them as they waft through the air like billowy, yellow clouds. Anyone that took notice of their surroundings knew it was coming because the male pine cones have been very visible for several days now. It was only a matter of time before they threw caution to the wind and released their half of the next generation into the warm breezes. The timing was spot-on with this unseasonably warm temperatures, breezy conditions, and no recent rain. A perfect combination for a liberal dusting of yellow.

Now many people are suffering from allergies and are looking for the most likely culprit. Since pine pollen is very visible, the blame always falls on it. Sorry! But it's not the cause of the allergies. The pollen is too big to cause an allergic reaction. The only sneezing caused by pine pollen is a normal reaction to an irritant to the nasal lining. The real allergic reactors are oak, hickory, and other hardwoods.

To those people who complain, complain, complain about the pollen, I say buck it up! Soon the male cones and catkins will spew the last of their kind into the air for this year and the rain will come to wash the rest away. Let the trees and other plants have their fun. After all, they only get to make love once a year!!

He's ALIVE!!!!

Christ has risen from the dead!!!
HALLELUJAH!!

One of my favorite Easter songs is entitled "He's Alive!". Several different versions have been recorded over the years, but my favorite one is by David Phelps. Listen to it and praise our Lord that He has conquered sin, death, and hell!!

A Decade of Uncleness

It's so hard to believe that I have been an uncle for 10 whole years!! It seems like yesterday that I was working when I received "the call". It was a little after noon on Saturday. I was behind the counter at CARQUEST impatiently waiting for 3 PM to chime so I could spin tires out of the parking lot. The telephone rang, and I, with my best customer service voice, answered it. Instead of an inquiry about the price of an oil filter or a belt, I was given the news by my sister that she was in labor and was about to leave for the hospital. She was chattering uncontrollably and could barely form words correctly, but she did get across that THIS WAS IT. Of course, I strongly suggested that she not have them until after I get off work because I had no choice but to stay till 3. She said she would she what she could do about it (tongue-in-cheek, of course!).

The afternoon crept along and finally I was released from my "prison" and motored down the highway at a fast clip. I arrived home, changed clothes quickly, and escorted Mom to Wake Med. We arrived on two wheels and finally found the room where Kellie and Steve were waiting. I will never, ever forget the next few moments...

The closer we got to the room, I heard a noise. It became louder and louder and louder. Mom knocked on the door and Steve answered it. Come to find out, the noise was being produced by my sister. It reached a crescendo when the door was cracked. A undulating, moaning sound emanated from the room

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I can remember my eyes widening in surprise, Steve's face cracked in a huge grin, and this thought coursing through my brain...That's my sister making that noise!!!!! After telling them we were there, Mom and I went back to the waiting room and waited for the inevitable. Dad arrived a few minutes later along with other family members. We talked and waited and talked and waited some more. Finally someone came out to tell us that Wesley had popped out and she would come back with the rest of the story later. After another short wait, she returned to let us know that Mikayla had followed suit and that everyone was doing well.

Wow! What memories!!! I still can't believe they are 10 years old! During the time of their arrival into this world, Nickel Creek released a single entitled "When You Come Back Down". I have always loved the song and find it very fitting in describing part of what I feel about my nephew and niece. They are growing up so fast! I will end with the lyrics to this lovely song.

You got to leave me now;
You got to go alone.
You got to chase a dream,
One that's all your own
Before it slips away.
When you're flyin' high,
Take my heart along.
I'll be the harmony to every lonely song
That you'll learn to play.

When you're soarin' through the air,
I'll be your solid ground.
Take every chance you dare;
I'll still be there
When you come back down,
When you come back down.

I'll keep lookin' up,
Awaitin' your return.
My biggest fear will be that you will crash and burn
And I won't feel your fire.
I'll be the other hand that always holds the line,
Connectin' in between your sweet heart and mine.
I'm strung out on that wire.

And I'll be on the other end
To hear you when you call.
Angel, you were born to fly,
But if you get to high,
I'll catch you when you fall.
I'll catch you when you fall.

Your memory's the sunshine every new day brings.
I know the sky in calling.
Angel, let me help you with your wings.

When you're soarin' through the air,
I'll be your solid ground.
Take every chance you dare.
I'll still be there
When you come back down.
When you come back down.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WESLEY AND MIKAYLA!!!!