QUARANTINE BLOG # 444

June 17, 2021

Well, here’s another thing you can “thank” the Chinese Virus for – hand sanitizer on a restaurant dining table.  We had dinner last night at a fabulous Italian restaurant – Martino’s in Watkinsville, GA – two thumbs way up (the Chicken Marsala was so good it would make you slap your grandmother).  Staff all in masks, fully vaccinated patrons were not required to mask.  Very attentive service, great food.  But it was so strange to look around the restaurant and see a bottle of hand sanitizer on every table.  Just one more way the deceit surrounding COVID-19 has changed all of our lives.

👉  Today is the 17th, and I found some interesting things about the number 17.

This first one is a personal note that wasn’t uncovered in my research.  In 1985 I took my first ever job in retail as a part-time salesman at Taber’s Fine Jewelers (“Your jeweler with the 100 day money back guarantee”).  I won the Christmas sales contest for the entire company – an all-expense paid week-end in Nassau for 2.  Bonnie couldn’t go because, living 600 miles from home, we couldn’t find anyone to take over care of the JAMM Kids for the weekend, so The Bro said he would suffer and go.  I had never been to a casino, so we went to one.  Not knowing a thing about roulette, I walked over to the table to watch.  As I got within range, 17 black hit.  I watched for a while and still didn’t know what was going on, so I turned to walk away, and 17 black hit.  I turned around, put a $5 chip on 17 black, and you guessed it – the little ball landed no where close.

Oh yeah, I was born on February 17.

According to research done by MIT the number 17 is the most common randomly chosen number between 1 and 20. 

The Beatles hit song “I Saw Her Standing There” was originally going to be called “Seventeen.”

Most people in the world the most unlucky number, but this isn’t the case everywhere.  In Italy, the number 17 is instead considered unlucky, and it goes back to the age of Romans.  In Roman numerals, 17 is XVII, which when rearranged becomes VIXI.  In Latin VIXI means “I have lived,” which essentially means “I am dead.”  Alitalia, an Italian airline doesn’t have a row 17 for this very reason, and some hotels do not have a room 17.

👉  No idea why, but today its National Eat All Your Vegetables Day.  Vegetables have great versatility and can be eaten raw, or can be cooked, boiled, steamed, baked, or dried – and more.  They are highly nutritious and contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients.  Eating them can help reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, and some cancers.  Eating them also boosts the immune system, regulates metabolism, protects the heart, regulates blood pressure, helps skin and bones, and helps with gut health, among other things.  So, “More Brussel sprouts, please.”

👉  “Non Sequitor” has a great series about apologies (BTW: An apology, a real apology, does not begin with “If I hurt you.”  A real apology is, “I hurt you.  I am sorry.”).

👉  And some funnies:

👉  One more:

👉  Today’s close, “Things That Seem Good,” is by Jennifer Waddle.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

As Eve gazed at the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, it’s easy to understand why she was drawn to it. Delightful to the eyes and desirable for wisdom, it was too tempting to resist. Many of us can relate to Eve’s dilemma as we encounter things that seem good – too good to pass up.  But in the end, some of those seemingly good things lead us away from the intended path God has for us.  And, the delight of our eyes can leave us with a mess of unfavorable consequences.

There was an element to Eve’s dilemma that happened right before she considered the forbidden fruit.  The enemy slithered in without warning and disrupted her thoughts.  As she went about her day, without a care in the world, the serpent swept in with a single question.

The life of contentment Eve had was suddenly disrupted by a suggestion of doubt.  And it’s no different for us.  We go about our lives doing just fine until one thought, one question, one suggestion offers us something too good to pass up.

Eve’s story can be a guide for us; an example of how NOT to listen to the whisper of the enemy.  Even when something seems so good, we can (and should) take a moment to pray and ask for God’s wisdom.  His Spirit will either confirm that it is good, or He will open our eyes to the truth of the situation.

The next time something seems too good to resist, allow yourself some space to ask for God’s direction.  That is one good course of action you won’t regret.

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