Monday Musings...

Welcome to another "fun-filled" (?) week, which I'm sure will all depend on your point-of-view.
It's just got to be better than the weekend was, as far as the weather went.
Just plain rainy, gray, cold lack-luster 48 hours, accentuated with frosty morning conditions.
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with mostly cloudy skies (again?) with the rain finally tapering off later this morning (toss in some sunshine, please).
Might see a touch of fog out there this morning, too.
Expect a high of around 53 degrees, which is a bit warmer than yesterday.
Now, let's put our best foot forward, hope no one chooses to step on it, and get ourselves that comforting morning drink, as we see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the rain barrel is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
April 11 -
---Today is NATIONAL BARBER SHOP QUARTET DAY

(some of the most "fun" music you'll ever come across.)
And go check THESE guys out - very cool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV9SHKfck4Q&list=LLGbyMkVqtIEZQuS8pLB7oEA&index=67
---It's also NATIONAL CHEESE FONDUE DAY

("So...do you...fondue?") - Yes, a gratuitous Captain America The First Avenger quote.
---And, it's NATIONAL 8-TRACK TAPE DAY

(hated the "program-change" aspect to them - it was like: "Smoke, on the....(long pause)...WATER" )
And to think that cars in the1950s & 1960s could play 45 RPM RECORDS in them (look it up)!
---It's NATIONAL PET DAY

(I know of several people who got this one covered, myself included)
---And, it's NATIONAL SUBMARINE DAY

(I'm not guessing they mean the sandwich - it has to do with John Holland and the year 1900)
*** Next up, I come to you this morning (more than others) through the GRACE OF GOD...allow me to explain...

This NOW includes the airport expressway!

Wifey and I headed out for grocery shopping early Saturday (little after 0800 hrs), and I immediately noticed the streets were a might on the "slick" side, due to some light rain and near freezing conditions. Not much was on the news about it, though.
, after getting the "feel" for what was under our tires, we proceeded to the airport expressway to get to Lower Huntington Rd (we shop at the Kroger on Bluffton Rd for obvious reasons).
Well, the speed limit on the A/E was 45 MPH (posted after Tillman) but I was doing about 35 MPH, due to road conditions (not much traffic either, thankfully).
Now, there is ONE traffic light between Tillman and Lower Huntington (at Winchester Rd.), and it only cycles whenever a car is waiting to cross the intersection (pressure-plate), but today, it cycled with NO cars along Winchester as we approached it.
Normally, I juststop for the light and proceed when it turns green, but the road under us had OTHER ideas.
I applied the brakes and could feel the ABS kick in almost IMMEDIATELY.
This wasn't a good sign.

The scene of the incident.

Basically, we were riding on a very icy road, so I kept TRYING to whoa the car down, without losing control & tossing it sideways..
I got it down to under 30 MPH, but the intersection was less than 100 feet away and there was no reasonable chance of stopping in time...PLUS, the light was RED. Well, I looked both ways (no cars along Winchester), and had to drive THROUGH the light. Now, I gotta admit, that this was the FIRST TIME in all the years I've been driving where I did this ON PURPOSE. I've not seen that light cycle in such a manner in all the time we've been using that road to get to the store. It was really odd to have NO traffic crossing the expressway, and that law of physics came to mind about "no two objects occupying the SAME space at the SAME time" 
Amazing what you think of in such moments.
Our front seat must have been crowded, for at that point, GOD was driving, and Wifey and I were pretty much "along for the ride".

Just don't meet by "accident".

We got through the intersection without incident (and soiled undies). It was just one of those oddball occurrences that sticks mortality right in your face, because it could easily have turned out a LOT worse, had several parameters been altered ever so slightly.
The drive back was totally without problems, and stopping at Winchester was normal. I guess one or two degrees can make a world of difference along Indiana roads. Having driven in real crappy weather back east, I thought I had encountered every condition available...guess I can add THIS one to the list now.
Fate can be a curious creature, that's for certain.
*** Next up, remember when I mentioned (here) about the "possible" reason for climate change being a shift in the "wobble" of the Earth?

Well, some scientists are kinda on the same page, but they might be getting their data mixed up.
Here's the story link:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/09/melting-ice-sheets-changing-the-way-the-earth-wobbles-on-its-axis-says-nasa
Yeah, (to me) it seems they're putting the CART before the HORSE on this one, even if it IS NASA.

It's been proven that, over the centuries, our AXIAL TILT has shifted, and with that comes the expected weather changes. But they say the warming is causing the wobble, and not the wobble causing the warming.
I'd much rather trust in the manner that God runs the universe, rather than the manner in which we ATTEMPT to "run the Earth"...any day.
*** Next, I read where Steve Miller was a bit cheesed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Welcome to Cleveland

(and he was JUST inducted).
Here's the story:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2016/04/08/steve-miller-rants-rock-hall-fame-induction-ceremony/82824082/

"I've got THIS much respect for the HOF board"

Now, he DOES have a  point. Access to the event is limited, and the judging "board" is not TRULY representative of the music industry, let along rock and roll. Plus, the way in which the artists are treated came to bear from Miller.
None of this touches on why I find such ceremonies wrong.
N.W.A. was ALSO inducted into the R&R HOF...

"...WTF???..."
That's right, you heard correctly. The HOF is putting RAP into a ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame.
Why the hell would you even THINK of doing that.
Aside from the fact that (c)rap is (imho) not fit for dogs to howl along with, and actually is an abuse to everyone on the planet, it's an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GENRE OF MUSIC...about as far FROM R&R as EAST is from WEST.
I could see rap (maybe) getting into the R&B HOF.

How's about they create their OWN Hall of "Fame" (or would that be Hall of INFAMY?)
And besides, was AC/DC or GEORGE JONES ever inducted into the RHYTHM AND BLUES HALL OF FAME...?
No. There you go them. End of discussion. Keep every separate, for music's sake.
*** Next, I like this article for some of the reasons presented, and because some of it DOES make sense (a welcome change):
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Black-youth-discuss-STDs-12499952

The kids I remember...

Black youth...now there's a troubled sector of our population.
Thing is, they grow up and some of them cause a majority of the chaos in urban areas.

TODAY, going downhill, thanks to Obama.

But, aside from the discussions on STDs and HIV is a far more reaching part to this "puzzle" - the way people are shunned, derided, and otherwise put down.

A "failing" grade for sure.

Many in attendance feel that getting help is the problem (well there are places and programs already in place to deal with tush things), but you have to go to THEM.
They don't make "house calls" because you're lazy.
One 15-year old stated in the SE side (where she USED to live) violence erupts there, and that people will not confide in something that could spread through a neighborhood.
The ostracizing by one's OWN people, it would seem, right? We know blacks don't take well to gays of their OWN race. People die for such things in the community.
And no, they cannot ALL GET ALONG...not even with themselves.
It's a good article and says more than is printed, but that's dependent upon what you see and hear when living down here.
*** Last back to the soapbox...I like to believe that every day is a gift from our Creator, and I always try to acknowledge that in some fashion.

Some folks can't (or won't) realize that, and for whatever reason they have, I probably won't ever understand it.
I also believe that all of us are here, right now, for a purpose, and there are many days when I would like some hints as to WHAT the exact purpose might be.
I mean, you hate to feel like you're going into "battle" (against those evils and principalities) with only ONE BOOT ON, right?
We're not ALL destined to be that shining light, or beacon on the hill, but we ARE meant for a life of devotion and servitude. Never met a Christian yet who was parked perpetually on some lawn chair or sofa, taking life as easy as it could be, never lifting a finger or batting an eye to do anything WITH God, let alone FOR God.

But sometimes, the smallest "whimper" from a believer nets the greatest result.
We're not all destined to be a pulpit-speaking, fire and brimstone preacher, or perhaps not even a missionary to another land, or even a regular church-goer.
My father believed that the church of God doesn't have to reside in a brick and mortar structure, but rather in the human heart. And he wasn't the most godly man created.
He married Mom in the largest Methodist church in Philly, too, yet I can count the number of times I saw him in (any) church on one hand, aside from funerals.
That did not take away from the man he was, or how he believed.
I think God prefers such people and for good reasons.
"In humility there is strength, and in virtue there is truth."
(that's MY quote, BTW - something I've come to learn and know)
Call it a "Bobism".

We may not see the "miracles" that we'd LIKE to see, because we're all used to having what is the most SENSATIONAL thrust in our faces daily, but the evidence of the Hand of God at work in our lives is there, just the same.
And maybe, just living as an example of HIS work is what's required of us.
In this case, LESS is certainly MORE, right?

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.