The Last Hibiscus...

 

...of the summer. 

Those holes in its petals pay homage to its seasonal longevity, but alas...summer hath drawn to its inevitable end, taking its prettiest accoutrements with it.

Dirty summer...go ahead, take your ball and go home!

C'mon, Fall...

there's supposed to be a fairway 'round here somewhere

so many jack-o-lanterns, so little time

when the chair pillows are flannel it must be fall

every kid's fave night of the season

...let's have some fun together.

I know you won't pack your bags and leave us in the lurch like summer has...

...right?

We're already 2 games into the high school football season, and it's not even Labor Day yet...

...when we honor the men and women who built this country and continue to make it run.

This year, Labor Day is as late as it can be - Monday the 7th - and that's gonna make September zip by even faster than usual.

So enjoy your long weekend, the less popular of the twin bookends to summer...

...then get after the rest of this glorious month.

And taking my own advice, let's HGU:

Not much to tell; 'bout the same as usual, though I did manage a 6-3 win on Thursday which should have been a 9-0 win.

But that's golf...

when perfection is the goal, you spend a lot of time looking like this

...a game of failure.

It's how we manage those failures that makes the difference.

I can pinpoint each stroke on the 3 lost holes when I knew exactly what I was going to do, and then proceeded to flub the shot.

And it's not like I was hoping for some extraordinary save -

- just a regular fairway wood, chip onto the green, or putt I wanted to lag up close to the pin.

oops

There are days I wonder why I bother; I know Karen does for sure.

Oh well; something to shoot for next week.

For reasons known only to the Atomic Monster Cafe's resident photog (didn't take many pics), we have an abbreviated 23 Skidoo this week.

No need to thank us; it's what we do:

some ideas to get you started...I checked the boxes that are most important; please don't screw this up

a perfect summer day from the command center, before summer showed its true colors and ran like a scalded dog

saw this sign recently and gave it 2 thumbs way on up...didn't buy it however since they wanted $60 for it

strawberry transformation complete

king bumble caught <in flagrante delicto> with princess rose (of sharon)

This summer did not play out as expected.

Not that we had any major plans for it - just the usual:

Work, take Fridays off for golf, spend time in and around the pool, keep up with yardwork, enjoy the shade and refreshing breeze from the command center on warm summer days, hit the farmer's market for fresh produce and visit Fenn Valley for wine occasionally.

Losing my job and stumbling into unexpected retirement changed that.

Instead of serene, carefree summer days when the livin' is easy, this season morphed into a heapin' helpin' of stress and a healthy side dish of something I usually detest:

Waiting.

While many of the issues we faced have been buttoned up satisfactorily by God's grace, others are still unresolved, floating in the ether of the unknown.

I'm not good at this.

I made my living fixing problems, most of which required solutions "now".

"Waiting" conjures visions of people sitting around in hospitals, anxiously twiddling thumbs while doctors and nurses actually do something to fix the problem.

But waiting is biblical and even commanded.

It encompasses active trust in the LORD, coupled with the certain knowledge He loves us and is doing what's best for us.

When King David was in dire straits, his life in danger and surrounded by enemies, he turned to the Lord:

¹⁴ Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

    - Psalm 27:14

The prophet Isaiah echoes these same sentiments:

³¹ But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

    - Isaiah 40:31

Biblical waiting is the exact opposite of how we typically view it.

Rather than sitting idle and doing nothing, Isaiah says it involves action: getting stronger, rising up, moving forward, all in pursuit of God's will for us.

It's prayerfully seeking God's will while actively trusting Him for the results.

It's not necessarily easy for those of us raised with that prevalent "need it now" philosophy, but it does come with God's promise of results:

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

    - Romans 8:28

And so we wait.

later, mcm fans...

About That Bold Move…

…the ubiquitous black rectangle is back.

I really wanted to use my little flip phone…

…it fits so nicely in my pocket and has a retro cool look and feel.

But...it has one major shortcoming with which I simply cannot live:

It can't connect via bluetooth to my Xlink device...

 ...and that's what makes my antique rotary dial phones work.

That, my friends, is a deal breaker.

After a little research I found out why it doesn't work:

TCL flip phones (both 2 and 3) use Bluetooth 4.2, and the Xlink uses version 5.0.

I scouted around a bit and found a Kyocera flip phone that would work with my Xlink, but I'm tired of spending time and money on this.

Especially since my old iPhone SE works with Puretalk; all I had to do was put my PT sim in my iPhone SE...

...and voila:

...back in the saddle.

Flippy gets to stay on as a backup - it's free with my plan - so I've decided to take the L on this one.

Machine, 1 - Resistance, 0.

Just wait 'til next time.

According to our friends that prognosticate the weather...

...we're just a few short days away from Fall.

You recall for meteorologists, seasons begin on the first day of the month in which the astronomical <solstice or equinox> occurs.

Since the Autumnal Equinox happens on September 22nd, Fall begins on September 1st...3 days from now.

Why do we care?

I'm so glad you asked.

In a recent poll (of 9 fingered men who live in Michigan, are owned by 3 cats, and are married to the most beautiful woman in the world), Fall was voted the best season of the year because:

Duh!  The magnificent crescendo of colors, of course.  God, the Master Artiste, embellishes the countryside with glorious hues of red, yellow, orange, burgundy and brown.

Really?  You had to ask?  Pumpkin patches!  You've got jack-o-lanterns to carve and sheaves of corn stalks to display.

And don't forget apple orchards with wagon rides, cider and donuts.

The primary advantage of apple orchards?

The world's best apple pie, courtesy of Karen.  Truly a seasonal delight I crush on all year long.

Leave us not forget everyone's fave (autumn) holiday, All Hallows E'en.

Its shady origins aside, this is a great opportunity to share the truth of God's love with lots of smiling children (and their parents) as they come to your door and happily accept whatever you give them.

Why not include a gospel tract along with that candy?

You might just change someone's life for good...forever.

Lessee...did I forget something?

Not a chance, just saved the best for last:

Fall Golf.

Nothing beats a crisp early morning stroll through the countryside festooned with autumnal glory, chasing that little white ball from tee to pin with your hickories.

Truly, I could live year 'round in September, but alas!

'Tis but a single month, here and gone too soon.

Embrace it while you can.

It will reward you with beautiful vistas, delicious food and cherished memories for the rest of your life.

yep, we're jumping the gun a bit

Speaking of hickory golf...

...that's my current playset: l to r, 20* long spoon, lofting iron, putter.

Humble, I know, but over the course of this so-so season, those have become my 3 best clubs.

For now, if I carry another one, it will only be for backup in case my long spoon breaks.

I've tried other long nose woods from the tees this season...been switching out clubs from 12* to 16*, but I don't hit any of those as consistently - or as far - as the one above.

So I figure why waste the round constantly scrambling, trying to salvage mediocre drives?

Last week was another push - won Monday, lost Thursday - we'll see if zeroing in on just the clubs I hit best makes a difference.

If nothing else, it cuts down on time trying to decide which club to use for each shot.

More to come...

My lawyers maintain insanity is a winning defense, so I say let's roll the dice and 23 Skidoo:

they never smile for the camera, probably bc they feel guilty eating the birds' food (enlarge the pic and look closely at his nose)

we're getting an early start on our fall decorating...

... both outside...

...and in (love the orange owl from hobby lobby)

mr. squirrel has nothing to fear from us, but seems like he's just a wee bit too relaxed

right behind this beautiful garden in our courtyard...

...was a BIG nest of yellowjackets.  sorry boys, but I'm allergic.

just because I like it

In December of 1973 "The Exorcist" premiered, but didn't make its way to Maine - where I was a junior in high school - until 1974.

A group of my classmates decided to go see it and urged me to join them.

I flatly refused.

"Why?" they taunted.  "Are you chicken?"

I had to think about that.

I wasn't raised in a Christian home, and didn't come to know Christ until the early 80's.

In 1974, everything I knew about Christianity, demonic possession and the occult fit comfortably on the head of a pin.

So I knew nothing of God's explicit warnings in His Word about the dangers and consequences of the occult:

³¹ Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

    - Leviticus 19:31

¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

¹¹ Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

¹² For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

    - Deuteronomy 18:10-12

¹⁸ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

    - Exodus 22:18

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

    - Ephesians 6:12

Back in 1974, the only thing my 17 year old self knew was I didn't want to see it; it just felt wrong somehow.

Ironically, the Special Effects Director - Marcel Vercoutere, who won a Saturn Award for Best Special FX - felt the same way.

He was quoted as saying, "I felt I was playing around with something I shouldn't be playing around with".

The production of the movie was plagued with many problems, injuries and even deaths among cast, crew and family members; the 85 days allowed for filming ballooned to 200, and production cost overruns tripled the original budget.

Audience reactions were extreme - one reviewer reported access to bathroom sinks was blocked by all the vomit.

In spite of this, my classmates went ahead with their plan to see the movie.

The result?

The ones who actually watched the movie - several of them got up and left - told me privately they wished they hadn't.

One of them confided he now kept his bedroom light on all night.

They got no "I told ya so"s from me; I felt sorry for them, but really, what did they expect?

No sane person would drink motor oil; it's poison and will kill your body.

You think poisoning your brain with ungodly sights and sounds won't kill your mind?

That was more than 50 years ago, and I suppose by today's standards The Exorcist is considered light fare.

That's a very sad commentary on the downward spiral of our society.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words in his epistle to the Philippians:

⁸  Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

    - Philippians 4:8

Got that?

Fill your mind with whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy.

Why?

Next verse:   ⁹ ...the God of peace will be with you.

Bet my classmates would have preferred that to their nightmares.

later, mcm fans...

In A Bold Move...

...I dumped the ubiquitous black rectangle...

...for a snazzy new flip phone.

As expected, I've been kicked off my former employer's cell phone plan, so have to get my own now.

Unimpressed with the steadily growing size of today's boring smart phones - they now rival the original brick phone of the 80's for heft -

yes, that's the Al Gore, climate alarmist and self-proclaimed inventor of the inter-web, transacting important business on his brick phone:  "Tipper?  Does my hair look ok?"

- I opted for something that fits easily in a pocket.

In spite of Mike Rowe's recent tiff with Puretalk, I signed up with them for $35/month and a free TCL Flip 2 phone.

They shipped it, we ported my old # from Verizon to Puretalk, and then found out the phone they shipped was DOA.

It powered up but little else; a white screen but no home page and unresponsive to keystrokes.

So back it went and I'm waiting for the replacement phone, due here early next week.

That means, for the first time in 3 decades, I'm cell phoneless!

Just kidding on the panic thing...it's been a week and a half so far, and it's actually kind of liberating.

More than half my life happened pre-cell phones, and somehow all seemed ok back then.

Not so surprisingly, all seems ok now, too.

There are a few websites I frequent that require 2-factor authentication, so yeah...that's kind of a temporary pain.

But other than that, life has not screeched to an abrupt halt.

I'm probably a little more tuned in to what's happening around me, less distracted by nonsense emanating from the palm of my hand.

The plan is to continue this trend when I get my flip phone up and running.

Despite its retro/throwback appearance, it does have wifi and bluetooth, but a relatively small screen which should discourage doomscrolling...

"My wife keeps yelling about a fire or something, but I know I saw a video of a cat fighting a cobra on here somewhere..."

...through the sewage system known as the internet.

Hey, don't look at me like that; could have been worse.

I still have an old Nokia kicking around here somewhere...

...was tempted to dust that off again.

In the meantime, if you must get hold of me, you can try calling the operator and ask to be connected to WOrth 8 3062.

Let me know if I answer.

I was about 8 years old...

Christmas, 1964.  I'm the handsome one.

...and living in Pennsylvania back then.

That's gonna do it for this week.

I lack the time, emotional energy and intestinal fortitude to delve into the depressing world of politics.

Losers like Swalwell, Angie Nixon, Al-Sayed, Newsom, Schumer, Jeffries and the rest of the depraved D's will have to wait for another day to be pilloried.

Right now I have to descend into the woods to put up a chicken wire fence to keep some huskies from attacking and killing our cats.

¹⁴ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

    - II Chronicles 7:14

LORD, let it be so.

later, mcm fans...