Here’s a perfect story illustrating that young ears are always listening and that you never know what will come out of the mouths of young ‘uns.
My good friend, ol’ Aiden deKidds, recently wuz helping out with a 4-H livestock judging contest and he wuz under a time constraint. The contest began at 8 a.m. and Aiden knew he had to leave by 10:30 to arrive on time for his younger brother’s wedding that afternoon.
I’ll mention that Aiden and his brother are not spring chickens. A lot of water has run under their bridges.
To the other folks helping with the judging contest, Aiden made it clear that he had to leave at 10:30 and that the other adults would have to run the contest to its conclusion. To which they all readily agreed.
Well, when 10:30 arrived, Aiden got ready to bid his farewell and one of the other adults asked Aiden if his soon-to-be-wed brother was getting hitched for the first time.
Aiden chuckled and said, “Nope. This is not his first time taking a bride to the alter.”
At which time a young 4-H girl standing nearby piped up with this astute observation. She looked at Aiden in all seriousness and said, “Guess that means this one’s got money.”
That comment sent Aiden down the road with a happy heart and a good story to tell his brother.
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My friend Willie Jay recently sent me an e-mail describing his new Facebook for seniors technique. Here’s what he wrote:
“For those of my generation who do not and cannot comprehend why Facebook exists, I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook while applying the same principles.
“Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passersby what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I did the night before, what I will do later, and with whom.
“I give them pictures of my family, my dogs, my toy train, my garden veggies, me taking things apart in the garage, watering the garden, standing in front of landmarks, driving my truck, feeding the cows, baling hay, hauling manure, having lunch, shooting my guns, and doing what anybody and everybody does every day.
“I also listen to their conversations, give them the ‘thumbs up’ and tell them I like them.
“And it works just like Facebook. I already have six new people following me — two sheriff deputies, the county attorney, a private investigator, a PETA member, and a psychiatrist.”
Sounds perfect to me.
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I read something recently about Seenagers. I didn’t know it until then, but I am a Seenager, too. (Senior teenager)
I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. I don’t have to go to school or work. I get an allowance (pension). I have my own pad. I don’t have a curfew. I have a driver’s license and my own car. I have ID that gets me into bars and the Beer Store. No one tells me what to do or when to do it. The women in my acquaintance are not cautious about involvement. And I don’t have acne.
What more could I ask for?
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The college football season is riding high these days, so I’ve got a story to tell that will get me into trouble. Before I tell the story, let me assure you that it’s a story that can be changed in the retelling to diss whatever school you choose.
I’ve a neighbor who’s daughter broke with family tradition and attended the University of Kansas, rather than Kansas State University as her parents and siblings had done.
So, the first time the Jayhawk daughter comes hone and gets ready to do her laundry, she goes into the laundry room to wash a sweatshirt and yells out to her mom, “What setting do I use?”
Mom asks her, “What color is it and what does it say?”
Daughter replies, “Crimson & blue and it says Rock Chalk”
Mom yells back, “Hot water and 5 cups of bleach!”
Don’t get mad at me. Just retell it to your own preferences.
***
Thomas Sowell is a black columnist and commentator, but I rather think of him as a modern day Will Rogers. Here’s a couple of his observations that will serve as my words of wisdom for the week. He said, “Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good.”
And, “It’s hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
Quote on, Thomas! Quote on! Have a good ‘un.
