QUARANTINE BLOG # 658

January 26, 2022

Last time I was fixin’ to tell you some more Southern expressions, but you had to Wait ‘til the Cows Came Home.  Settle in, because whatever we’re talking about is going to take all day.  Cows aren’t known for their speed, and they are usually out and about, wandering until feeding time.  Farmers know that if you do something ‘til the cows come home, it’s going to take all day.

I Reckon: I reckon “I reckon” can replace any number of phrases, such as: I guess, I suppose, I think, and I imagine.  It is a quintessential Southern phrase, said by friends and family on porches and in rocking chairs all across the South.

Full as a Tick: If you’ve just had a big Southern lunch, complete with cornbread, collard greens, and pecan pie, you’re definitely full as a tick.  It’s a vivid phrase, and it’s an accurate one too.  And if you are even fuller (more full?) you are as full as a tick and ready to drop off.

👉  Before we leave this jocularity for today, a few more cow-toons by Gary Larson:

👉  Police in Ireland are investigating reports that the body of a dead man was brought to a post office in an attempt to collect his pension.  The Irish Times said a man who appeared to be in his 60s was dragged into a post office, propped up by two younger men.  When questioned by staff, the two fled, leaving behind the older man, who was found to be dead.  One of the young men had inquired about collecting someone’s pension and was told that the recipient had to be present.  With the help of a companion, he returned with the dead man’s body.  Police are still looking for the dead man walkers.

👉  I heard about a pensioner who took a job as a waiter.  It didn’t pay much, but it put food on the table.

👉  Conscripts in Norway have been ordered to return their underwear, bras and socks after the end of their military service so that the next group of recruits can use them.  The Norwegian military said that it is struggling with dwindling supplies, in part due to the pandemic.  The Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization’s press spokesman said that with “proper checks and cleaning, the reuse of garments is considered an adequate and sound practice.”  Until recently, the roughly 8,000 young men and women who every year do their military service returned their outer clothing but were allowed to leave the barracks with the underwear and socks they were issued.

👉  QB 649 featured the “International Husband of the Year Award” and two runners up.  It has come to our attention that there were two honorable mentions:

At least he lightened the load.

This one is from Serbia where the entrant was practicing polygamy and caging his co-practitioners for life.

👉  A trio of Signs For The Times:

👉  On a serious note, world health officials are offering hope that the ebbing of the omicron wave could give way to a new, more manageable phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as they warn of difficult weeks ahead and the possibility of another, more dangerous variant arising.  In the U.S., cases have crested and are dropping rapidly, following a pattern seen in Britain and South Africa, with researchers projecting a period of low spread in many countries by the end of March.  Though U.S. deaths are still rising, new hospital admissions have started to fall, and a drop in deaths is expected to follow.  The encouraging trends after two years of coronavirus misery have brought a noticeably hopeful tone from health experts.  Rosy predictions have crumbled before, but this time they are backed by what could be called omicron’s silver lining: The highly contagious variant will leave behind extremely high levels of immunity.

The World Health Organization issued a statement Monday anticipating an end to the “emergency phase” of the pandemic this year and saying that the omicron variant “offers plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.”  Both Dr. Anthony Fauci and the WHO’s Europe regional director, Dr. Hans Kluge, cautioned that new variants are likely to emerge, but with vaccination, new drug therapies and – during surges – testing and masks, the world could reach a less disruptive level of disease.

Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium said, “There’s still a lot of pain before omicron has run its course,” but added: “It’s very plausible that omicron will be a turning point in terms of our relationship with this virus.”

Lord, hear our prayer!

🛐  Today’s close is from Dr. Ed Young.

The older I get, the more I love my family.  My wife, my sons and daughters in law and my six grandchildren are more precious to me than anything else in this life.  But if I were starting my family over again, I’d strive to do better.  I would listen more.  Love my wife more.  Spend more quality time with my children.  Praise them more often for doing right.  If I had it to do over again I’d let them know how grateful to God I am for each of them, every day.  Because family matters.

Puritan reformer and preacher Jonathan Edwards married Sarah Pierpoint, and they had 11 children.  Every day Jonathan and Sarah Edwards would sit down with each one of those children alone, and say “Let’s talk a little about you.”  Also, every day, this husband and wife rode on horseback together for an hour or more.  And 150 years after Edwards’ death, his family was still growing strong.  By 1900, the Edwards clan included 13 college presidents, 66 professors, a law school dean, 100 attorneys, 32 judges, 56 physicians, a medical school president, over 80 public office holders, over 100 missionaries, and a whole platoon of clergymen.  Edwards’ legacy was not his writings or the sermons he preached.  It was the family he loved and led.

What about you?  Is your family your number one priority?  Do they know it?  Tell them today, and let your actions prove that it is true.

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