Greetings and/or salutations! It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another exciting installment of Midweek Thoughts.

I love a good storm.  I know it’s typical for children to fear thunderstorms, but I have always found them comforting and actually sleep better when there’s a lot of thunder and lightning. There are many examples in the Bible where thunder is associated with God’s voice and His power, and I think that’s the reason why I’ve always liked it, even as a child.  Anyway, we had a pretty intense thunderstorm here last night. I was pleased.

When I was little, my dad would occasionally give me a two-dollar bill. I always found them to be pretty cool looking, and since they were sort of a special gift from my dad, I would never spend them. I still have a couple that I’ve held onto for well over a decade. I have to say, I’d really like to get more. Perhaps I’ll ask my bank if they have any the next time I’m there. Actually, I’d love to get a big stack of them and spread them all over town. I bet there are a lot of people who have never even seen them.

Servings sizes are silly. I can recall this one time I looked on the wrapper of a brownie and noticed it only had two hundred calories. “Two hundred calories?” I thought to myself. “That’s not bad for a brownie.” Upon closer inspection, I learned that a serving size was actually one half of a brownie. Now how many people are going to sit down with a brownie and only eat half of it? I felt cheated, I felt wronged, I felt deceived and I was slightly angry. But on the plus side, it was a pretty tasty brownie.

And now I kinda want a brownie…

It’s Wednesday already? Well then, I guess it’s time for some Midweek Thoughts!

This is going to sound strange, but I couldn’t tell if the teller at the bank who served me this morning was a man or woman. The person had short hair and was dressed in a male dress shirt and tie. The voice didn’t really sway things one way or the other, and the name was ambiguous too. I suppose I’ll never know though, ‘cause it’s not like I can just ask, “are you a man or a woman?” Especially if it’s the person handling my money. :O

Where did the expression “a bite to eat” come from? If I’m going to go through the trouble of eating I’d like more than a bite. Besides, I rarely ever see someone eat only one bite of food. Maybe someday I’ll get a plate of food together and then count how many bites it takes to eat the whole thing. Then I’d be able to say, “I’m hungry. I think I’ll get 22 bites to eat,” or whatever the number happens to be. *nod* I should do that. 

I’ve been reading the Psalms a lot lately. David of the Bible is sort of an interesting character. He was a wretched miserable sinner and at times a flat-out jerk.  Despite all those flaws, God loved him dearly and I find that encouraging. Anyway, I draw a lot of inspiration from the Psalms these days. I know my dad loved the Psalms a lot too. I wonder how many times he read them.

For many people Monday is a day of dread as they head back to work for another week at a job they probably don’t care for much. But I’ve found over the years that I actually sort of like Mondays. To me Monday represents a fresh start and new opportunities as well as a break from well… the break. Seriously. If I have too much time off I go a little nuts.

I feel grateful that I have a job and can bring home a paycheck. Without that paycheck, I wouldn’t have a roof over my head, food on the table, or clothes on my back. I wouldn’t be able to pay for Internet access or take road trips to visit my girlfriend either.

The United States currently has an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent with over 14 million people looking for work. So if you find yourself feeling a little down about having to go to work on Monday, just remember how rough it is out there and you may soon consider it a blessing. You might even find yourself saying, “Thank God it’s Monday!”

Today is a Wednesday. I always used to post a Midweek Thoughts entry on Wednesdays, so I think I’m going to try to start doing that again.

I used to write in this blog all the time. In fact, I made an effort to write in this blog every day. I know that stopped rather abruptly, but that’s because my life was upended, shaken up, tossed about and changed forever. Anyway, I’m trying to return to normalcy, and part of “normal” for me is writing in this blog, so here goes.

I tried Spam for the first time the other day. No, not the junk email type spam, but rather the “meat” type Spam. And it was turkey Spam since eating pork causes all sorts of upheaval inside me.

So one might wonder why I tried Spam. Well, I was grocery shopping at Walmart when I spied with my eye a type of meat I hadn’t tried. Yes, I bought it because I had never had it. I suppose that’s a bit silly as I would never apply the same principle to say… limburger cheese. But that’s irrelevant to the story, so I’ll try not to go off on a tangent here.

Spam tastes about as good as it looks. It’s not horrible, but it’s the sort of food one would stock in a nuclear fallout shelter. I probably won’t purchase it again, at least not until it’s time to stock my shelter.

I’ve been pretty sick for about the last week and a half. In fact, last week I was so sick that I could barely speak. So I did what any hungry man would do in such a situation. I ordered McDonalds food with a note!

It was a pretty simple order. All I wanted was a double quarter-pounder with cheese and only ketchup. I specifically stated in the note that I did not want the meal. So when the girl working the counter asked me, “do you want the meal?” I shook my head and felt a little disappointed that she even felt the need to ask.

Anyway, I went home and ate my sandwich. When I had finished eating, I grabbed the sandwich box to throw it away. As I tossed it in the trash, I noticed the nutrition facts. I felt disappointed again, because now that I know a double quarter-pounder with cheese has 740 calories, I probably won’t be able to order it again. *le sigh*

I’ve noticed that computers seem to have personalities. Nearly every computer I’ve used has some sort of weird quirk. For example, my primary laptop will just randomly go nuts and switch the wi-fi and Bluetooth on and off over and over again. This is pretty annoying since I can’t use the Internet with the wi-fi flickering on and off like a light switch. The good news is, I’ve decided to use that quirk as an excuse to buy a new laptop. Now if only I had any money… *drifts off into daydreams about new laptops*

The floors at the Burger King in Crawfordsville, Indiana are sticky. I don’t think they ever wash them.

The fries at the Burger King in Berea, Kentucky are ice cold. I don’t think they ever heat them.

One of the Burger Kings in Beckley, West Virginia seems very proud of their double cheeseburgers. They charge $2.39, and a buck double in nowhere to be found on the menu.

I saw a mattress discarded on I-64 in Kentucky. I guess it either fell off a truck or someone left it there intentionally. It’s a pretty odd sight driving down the interstate and passing… a mattress.

There was a bad traffic accident on I-64 which left me stuck in traffic for about an hour and a half. Later I googled “I-64 accident” and discovered there are accidents on that freeway several times a month. I’m never driving on I-64 again.

People in Indiana like to go 70 mph when the speed limit is 70. I find this odd. Also, they don’t seem to feel the need to turn on their headlights in the wee hours of the morning on an overcast day. I find that odd too.

And finally, when you’re in a construction zone in Illinois and the posted limit is 55, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can go 55. I discovered this when a state trooper pulled me over and explained that I should’ve been going slower. Thankfully he gave me a warning instead of a ticket.

May 23rd, 2010 is a date that will always stick out in my mind. My family had gathered at my parents’ house to celebrate the birthday of my sister. Despite being sick, my dad came downstairs and ate with us. He socialized better than he had in recent weeks, and I remember feeling hopeful that his condition was improving.

A while after we had eaten, he called my brother and I up to his office. He wanted to show us some of his favorite videos on this neat new website called Youtube. You could tell that my dad had recently just discovered it, and was having a good time finding all sorts of videos that reminded him of special things in his life. He played a song called “This Old House” and told us it was his theme song. Looking back on it now, I think I understand  what he was trying to tell us. I didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the last time I would ever hang out with my dad.

I would see him conscious only two more times. I saw him briefly as we rushed to publish the June 2010 issue of his newsletter. I was picking it up for corrections and my dad was busy getting ready for a doctor’s appointment or something, so we didn’t really say much to each other.

The final time I would see him conscious was on June 8th, 2010 when he opened his eye and awoke from his coma right before he passed on. That moment too, will be one I remember forever. 

Since the death of my father in June, my life has been changing in ways I never would’ve imagined. I never expected to be where I am now and doing what I am doing. Sometimes I feel scared, but then I remember that I can “do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13) Conversely, I’m constantly reminded of Jesus’ words, “without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

And most of the time, when I hear Scriptures in my mind, it’s in my dad’s voice.

The man refused. “No I’m not going to give you a dollar!”

So Artie went up to another guy and started choking him. “Give me a dollar!” he demanded.

“No!”

Finally, Artie went up to a third guy and choked him too while demanding a dollar. Like the other two men, the third guy also refused to give Artie a dollar.

The next day, the headline in the newspaper read, “Artie chokes three for a dollar at local grocery store.”

That was one of my dad’s jokes. Yes, they were a little corny, but I miss hearing them. I’m sure his jokes will be popping into my head for years to come and probably the rest of my life.

This is one of the fine items they sell in the gift shop at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. I dunno, I mean recycling is great and all but I think they might be taking things a little bit too far!

In case you’re wondering, no I didn’t buy any.

Don’t worry though. I’ll figure out a way to make it better.