Monday Morning Musings

I made a mistake.

I own up to it but, unfortunately, it can't be undone. I apologized to the affected party and will take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Ownership means not only taking credit for deeds well done but also those actions that have had a negative impact. I can blame no one but myself, the guy I see in the mirror while shaving.

Taking responsibility, or 'owning', an action nowadays is the exception rather than the rule. Too often we see or read daily of someone or some group blaming everyone but themselves for something they generated, offering outlandish excuses or turning a situation around to make it seem as if the 'other guy' emerged from an evil, cold, dark mist and committed an act for which there was a reaction they aren't responsible for.

Not so here. I am an imperfect person who sometimes makes mistakes; it's called being human. There's only been one man who has ever walked this earth that can be called a perfect being and you can read about Him in the bible.

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I have a neighbor, Rod Mobley. Rod is a very humble, quiet guy who goes about his business  unobtrusively, never making waves or drawing attention to himself. He and his wife Lisa are fantastic people whom my wife and I are proud to call not only neighbors but friends.

Last week the News Journal ran a story about Rob and his passion: arm wrestling.  It was a well-written article, giving readers a glimpse of the man and those who gather in his garage every Sunday afternoon to practice their craft, an activity that fills his driveway and causes overflow parking in the high school parking lot.

If only I weren't sixty years old with arthritic shoulders and thumbs...

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Straight out of 'Kids Say The Darndest Things', I offer this exchange between myself and my grandson Butch, age 4. I pick him up every Tuesday from daycare; part of our routine is stopping at Tim Horton's for a donut on the way home.

"Papaw, when you and Mamaw go to heaven, I will come and see you." I have no idea where that came from, completely out of the blue.

Me: "Yes, you will someday."

After a long pause: "Papaw are there donuts in heaven?"

I love that little man.