The Mind of Russ

What a great Memorial Day weekend! Nancy and I got away to the beach for a couple of days. Ahhhhhh. I actually walked over to the beach and sat in a chair in the sand and watched people and sat in a chair and watched people and sat and watched, sat and watched…sat…watched…sat. The thing that I cannot figure out is that Nancy looks forward to sitting on the beach. Me: give me AC, internet and an old movie and I am happy at the beach. We did play a round of putt golf.

I really like hanging out with her. Before we came home we went to the Pier Park area and at and shopped. Were walking back to the car, Caleb and his girlfriend were behind us cutting up and giggling and "young love" stuff. I told Nancy that I was glad that I can't say, "remember when we used to do that?" I can't say that because we still do that. We still hold hands and everything. I do most of the cutting up, but still.

I also like to ride my bicycle when I am at the beach and I got to do that a couple of times as well. From one of those bike rides I have a few awards that I would like to hand out. The first is the Rick Flair Award. This award goes to the young man that thought it would be fun to roll the window down and right at the time he passed me yell “WOOOOOOOO!” Young man, you scared me. But at least your buddies in the car think you are really cool and stuff and for the last 3 miles of my ride I had two pair of padded underwear.
The second award that I am handing out is the Captain Obvious Award. This goes to the young man that thought it would be fun to roll the window down and right at the time he passed me yell, “Hey Fatty!” Young man, you hurt me. But at least you were able to string two words together without an “um”.
You guys stop by the house and pick up your awards. I dare you.

We live in a messed up world. I hear a lot of folks that blame the government for the situation that we find ourselves. I don’t think that the government has a whole lot to do with it. I think that there are a whole lot of people, like my recent award winners, that just don’t really care about anyone but themselves. Here are a few things that you can try that will prove my point:
(1) Spend some time observing an intersection with a stop sign. It can be a 4-way or a regular way, just an intersection with a stop sign. Find a spot close by, but please not on the side of the road, preferable in a parking lot with a goof view of the intersection. As you sit there watch how many vehicles DO NOT stop. Why don’t they stop? What are they thinking? Who are they focused on?
Another thing to watch is how many folks cut it short when turning on to the next road. By that I mean instead of making the turn into the correct lane they turn short and actually cut into the opposite lane. I call it “cheating the road” or lazy for short.
(2) Spend some time observing the activities in a parking lot. This is a gold mine. Pick a spot in the outer edge of the parking lot, but a vantage point from which you can see the whole parking lot. As you sit there watch how many vehicles cut through the parking lot. Watch how many go the wrong way. Watch how many people DO NOT put their buggy in the buggy barn or their cart in the cart corral.

There is no way that the government is responsible for that, but I will admit they seem to do their part of pervert society. So, what about my two award winners? Is it their fault that they are the way they are or is it someone else’s? No need to look it up. It is their fault. Just as I am responsible for my actions, we are each responsible. Something as simple as living by the Golden Rule would do so much to repair our damaged society.

Oh, before you think that I am a goodie two shoes; if I had been carrying a gun the other day while riding my bike and my award winners did what they did, I would be writing this from jail because I would have shot a whole bunch of bullets at each of those vehicles. At least that was my fantasy. Either that or pelted them with paint balls and then call the police and identify the vehicles from the paint splatter and have then arrested for mental abuse and anguish. Or, I would have stuck my tongue out at them, no, raised my fist in anger. Yeah, raised my fist in anger that would have shown them....

But, alas I am faced with the words from my favorite Bible verse, Psalm 34:14, “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” That is was I am going to attempt to do as my part of helping society. Join me?