Today’s theme: “Questions”
Reader Letter of the Week …
I guarantee you John Grisham’s NEVER got a letter like this, from Jessica D., Pittsburgh
“Hello sir! I met you at Ligonier Days, and bought 2 books. I was flipping through them before going to bed and the snippets I caught have made me SO excited to read them in full! I found myself regretting not buying all five -- but I'm SURE I will be purchasing more! The sense of humor I caught in these books is extremely similar to my dad’s. It was like reading snippets of home.
“Thank you for your talent, your outlook on life, and for simply existing. God bless you, and I'll give you an update once I finish them.”
Isn’t that wonderful? I am truly blessed. And I mean what I say about Grisham. He’ll never get a letter like that. In fairness, we write different kinds of books. The kind he writes sell millions of copies. Mine draw notes like Jessica’s. I’ll take it.
Today’s blog post …
“The sinister innocence of the nipple”
One of the most brutal situations a public speaker must endure is to persevere through his or her presentation when he or she knows they’ve lost the audience. You’ve said something offensive. Your jokes fall flat. They hate you. Sure, being a married father of young daughters, I’m in a better position to deal with this than most. I lose the audience at the breakfast table when I ask if someone can please pass Daddy the milk. But last week I felt the air rush out of the room and the audience turn when I raised a topic that crossed a line. One just below the neck. Yes, I went for the nipple.
This week’s Instagram medley
Questions …
• If a diplomatic rooster tries to avert a cock fight is it fair to call him chicken?
• When Jesus preached we need to stop hating everyone everywhere He wasn't including Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, was He? No way, right?
• Which is older: Earth or Sun? Trick question: Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Sun only 1 day old. Sun cannot have another day til it has a night.
• Would a T-shirt still be a T-shirt if I got one with a big Q on the front?
• Does it make me odd that I enjoy Applebee's yet am fearful of bees on apples?
• Which will come 1st: a gun that shoots pictures or a smart phone that shoots bullets? And how many will die before bugs worked out?
• Please help me resolve this 4-decade old conflict: Is it mum or is Grease the word?
• Scientists declare earth is 4.54 billion years old. My question: when is it's birthday? Earth Day?
• How did ammunition get shorted to ammo instead of ammu? Is a word pronounced "am-MOO" too bovine for tough guys?
• Is it scandalous behavior or just creative use of space to find a funeral director who has skeletons in his/her closet?
• Zeitgust Word of the Week (a word I made up with the goal of getting it into an actual dictionary) …
Corrral: A rocky ocean enclosure used to house seahorses. Derived from coral, a rocky ocean formation; and corral, an enclosure used to pen ponies.
• Author’s note …
Please consider supporting me with some tangible appreciation (PayPal, Venmo, 874 Solomon Temple Rd., Latrobe, Pa, 15650).