10 K

Walking is a great form of exercise. We have quite a few residents who walk, regularly, in order to keep strong and agile. Some of them wear "fit bits" and others use various devices to keep track of their steps and/or distance traveled.
I do not walk for exercise, because, my job takes me in all directions, in and out of the building, all day long. Yesterday, however, I got in a little "run".
Mr. Pick-Up Man came to the front desk to make an equipment return. He was asked, by our receptionist to please go to the side door for the pick-up. The receptionist then asked me to accompany him up to the apartment. By the time I reached the apartment, the young man, had run up the four flights of stairs (I took the elevator), dashed down the hall, checked out the interior of the apartment, and disappeared.
Dismayed, I left the apartment and finally found him in a near-by common area....on his phone. He took one look at me and started off down the hall at such a rapid pace that, in order to keep him in sight, I had to trot!
Down the hall and down the stairs we went, floor after floor. The young man looking younger by the minute, and on his phone the whole time.....the old lady, with very short legs, chasing behind. At the bottom of the stairs, I yelled....YOU NEED TO STOP!!!!!
He did, Praise the Lord! We concluded our business rather briefly. (Neither of us were in the best of moods.) Then, he got back in his truck, and I went back to my my post.
There is no moral to this story. No rhyme or reason. But, it will not happen again. The next time I am asked to "follow that man", I will run very fast and employ a full body slam, before anyone even gets to a stairwell!

Dear Lord. None of us are getting any younger. Hopefully, we still have time to get wiser. Lead us, teach us, guide us. Grant us patience and peace.

Home on the Range

Because, as I have been told, Geography is no longer a subject taught in schools, few folks really know where Kansas City, is actually located. Most folks think that it is in Kansas. A smallish city, Kansas City, Kansas, is in fact, located in Kansas, but most of the city, is in Missouri. The entire Metropolitan Area consists of many small towns, in both states.
I live in Kansas City, Missouri, and have for most of my adult life, but I am a Kansan by birth. And, Kansas Day, is one of my favorite holidays. Three of our four children were born in Missouri. For that, I am extremely sorry.
Every January 29th, I don my very best University of Kansas sportswear and offer to sing my vast repertoire of Kansas Songs, for anyone who will listen. But alas, this being Missouri, only an elite few are interested.
Kansas and Missouri, are like oil and water. They do not mix.
But my songs are great.

Gracious and all knowing Lord, we spent a lot of time dwelling on our differences. And, I'm sure they don't amount to a hill of beans, to You. Show us how to focus on our similarities. We are all Your children.

Best Seller in the Works

More than a few of my readers have asked me, "Are you going to write a book?" Well folks, it's already written. Since 2008, I have been writing posts, on this blog, and this makes my 500th one. The plan is to choose 50 or 60, of the best stories. They will need to be checked for content and spelling, rewritten, and finally, I'll send the completed manuscript off to a publisher.
There will be at least one chapter, in this proposed book, that will deal with the US Postal Service, because they have provided me with hundreds of bizarre mail delivery or non-delivery stories. In fact, just recently, I had an intense discussion with one carrier who was having difficulty reading the numeral "1"!
Another chapter will deal with the unwritten Cardinal Rule, which we mid-westerners have about winter weather. It is....."When snow is predicted, everyone MUST go to the store and buy a loaf of white bread and some milk".  And, even, when a full-service restaurant is in the same building as your apartment, for some reason, we always think we NEED bread and milk!
Another, will have to deal with transportation. Because our buildings are located just off of a double round-about, the details about accidents and near accidents are quite numerous.  Also, electric chairs and scooters, driven by our residents, have caused enough broken toes, to make them our primary "road hazard". I run the other way, when I see one coming!
And, there will have to be several chapters about my most memorable characters. The Virginias, the Helens, the Joes and the Bobs. When, I stop to think about the great folks who have lived here, it may be, that I will have to write a follow-up book telling the stories of the residents.
My books will be best sellers!

I am blessed and honored.

Ask away!!!!!!!

Almost every day one particular gentleman announces himself, at my desk by saying, "I'm here with another stupid question." And, I reply, in my most accommodating voice, "There are no stupid questions." And, I truly believe that there are not!
People ask questions, because they do not know the answer. That's not being stupid, that's just being uninformed. When you ask and are given a correct answer, you have admitted your ignorance and thus emerge wiser and smarter.
By contrast, there are folks who amble by, every day. They are mostly visitors and vendors, and I know darn well that they don't know how to go about getting to their destinations, but they won't ask for assistance. I am sitting behind a customer service desk, for goodness sake. But, they are too embarrassed to ask for help........or too stupid. Not asking a question, when you don't know the answer, in my opinion, is the epitome of dumbness.
Years ago, I memorized a short poem, on this very subject:

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool; shun him. He who knows not and knows that he knows not is simple; teach him. He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; waken him. He who knows and knows that he knows is  wise; follow him.

Dear Lord. You are all knowing. Help us to ask for guidance and forgiveness.