Shade Tree Wisdom 2/4/11

Yes, I took a short walk this morning, but I did not wear my glasses because the nose piece makes the bridge of my nose freeze and that brings on a headache. But there was no wind to speak of, so it wasn’t bad at all. As I said, it was a short walk.

And the cold causes this query, “Where do birds go when water is frozen everywhere?” It comes up because friend Doug has been breaking the ice in his bird bath and the birds are sending out the word, “Come over here, he’s broken the ice so we can drink”.

But, $100,000 for each second of ad for the Super Bowl. The name, by the way, comes from Texan Lamar Hunt, whose team was involved in the first planned game, and his wife had just bought a super ball for the children to play with, so he started using that term for this game, and it stuck.

Now every 30 second of ad on the game sells for $3,000,000.00, and GM is buying ads for the first time. Agencies plan and work on these ads for months, and if they do not bring applause, the team working on them might not be having a job on Monday. Tough game to be in. But if you have a winner, a pat on the back and a bonus in the pocket.

And the storm. The news this morning reported that the highway department said they were running short of wreckers, and they urged people to stay off the highways unless they really had to go somewhere. How snow, wind, and ice can upset plans, even the best-laid ones, is amazing With all our technology, all our knowledge, all our expertise, we are held captive by a storm.

So experts warm again that people pay attention to their driving, make sure there is room enough to stop safely, and all the rules we learned in driving classes. When we drive, do what a poem by W.H.Auden suggests when he writes about people at work and says, “all wear a rapt expression, forgetting themselves in the function”.

St. Paul said it like this:
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interest,
But also for the interests of others.” Phil. 2,4.

So friend Doug chips the ice so the birds can drink. And maybe that is what the lord has in mind for us all, to serve others.

GPD 2/4/11