College football kicks off today. I’m sorry. I don’t know where these predictions come from but, yeah, this all seems legit. The big news is that the college football playoffs are expanding to 12 teams. Sometimes four doesn’t seem like enough but the current CFP (College Football Playoff) series has been in place since 2014. The 12 teams will consist of the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams, similar to other NCAA tournaments. 2026 is when the expanded format might begin, after the CFP contract expires. But the powers that be would like to it start as early as 2024.
I know what you’re thinking. That’s a Happy Monday post. Most any given week you would be right. This week’s Happy Monday was hard to put together. There just wasn’t enough stuff in the folder. Oddly enough there were Bible verses and quotes but a lack of funny bits. So this week we have gone overboard and have enough material for three Monday posts. I also drink coffee on Saturday; I’m headed to a men’s prayer breakfast shortly. Sometimes the Saturday posts are a little thin on churchy sort of things. What could be more churchy than a nuclear family walking out of a church in the 1950’s? The dad is wearing a suit and a hat, I mean come on. Coffee, church family, just a hint of sacrilege, but they’re not wrong.
Atlanta curse my foot. Earlier this year I had to chance to see the World Series trophy on tour as it traveled not only across Georgia but a few other southern states. This week the Georgia Bulldogs Championship trophy was on display for a few hours at our local Food City. Dr. Pepper handed out t-shirts and 12 oz. can drinks and now I keep walking walking around the house shouting “Ice cold Dr. Pepper here!” If you know you know.
Trapper Keeper – There is no good reason a 2nd grader would need one of these. But they were all the rage in 1983 and I had one anyway. Then another in the 3rd grade and again in the 4th. By the time I started middle school, and may have actually benefited from the kind of organization these monsters offered, the trend had run it’s course. Seeing these at Walmart this week warmed that soft 80’s spot in my heart.
The original muesli was created in Switzerland around 1900. A physician by the name of Maximilian Bircher-Benner came up with the dish as a remedy for his hospital patients. (In the United States, two brothers named Kellogg invented corn flakes at a sanitarium in Michigan and as that business took off a former patient, C.W. Post, began a rival company. There is a strange correlation between doctors, patients, hospitals and breakfast cereal.) If you grew up in Europe, especially Switzerland or Germany, muesli may have been a staple for breakfast or even lunch. In the United States I never heard of it until Kellogg’s began marketing Mueslix. Pictured above is a store brand box of Muesli from Kroger. I discovered that cereal a couple of years ago while working at Kroger, otherwise I wouldn’t know it exists. I can buy Muesli still but not Kellogg’s Mueslix… at least in the store. I have now learned that i can order Mueslix from Amazon.com or even Walmart.com. Our local Walmart doesn’t put it on the shelf but Kellogg’s makes it and I can order it from Walmart and get it with two-day shipping. Just like I can buy store brand bran flakes at Walmart and Food Lion but cannot find Kellogg’s or Post bran flakes anywhere. Those brand name cereals are also still produced but not carried by grocery stores, at least where I live. Your mileage may vary.
If you dial 988 (in the United States) you will be connected to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The new 988 number replaces the previous 11 digit number. The old 1-800 number will continue to work but 988 is the same for calls, text and chat. Veterans can dial 988 and press 1 to connect to the Veterans’ Crisis Line. The new 3 digit number provides ease of access during times of crisis for vets and non-vets alike. Help is available for individuals in need or those who care about them.
Duck Tales – This is a family of ducks the child and I watched Wednesday morning on our walk. Click here for a short video (18 seconds) of the babies looking for their mother and then click here for video of them climbing out of the water. Yes it’s been hot lately but you can get in a good walk at 8 AM before the temps get out of hand. Friday morning and again this morning I’m taking advantage of that time slot to trim hedge bushes. No ducks but we did have a random chicken a couple of years ago at the church. She just walked around the front yard and ran into the bushes if anyone got close.
It was Saturday, July 9th before we celebrated Independence Day and did all the things. Thanks again to our friends Justin and Marisa Henderson for inviting us out maybe for the third year in a row for family friendly grilling out and fireworks after dark. 30 years ago he was a bratty little kid in my Sunday School class. Now he has four kids and manages our local Tractor Supply.
Happy Anniversary to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter who on July 7th celebrated 76 years of marriage. Carter was governor of Georgia and President of the United States from 1976 to 1980. He is the longest lived president in American history and they are the longest married presidential couple. At the age of 97 he continues to serve as a deacon and teach Sunday School at his church and Plains, GA, and they still volunteer one week each year at Habitat for Humanity.
Photo Op – I was a 16-year-old high school student when I got my first summer job in 1992. My dad spent much of his adult life working in textile mills and he knew that a department would be a adding second shift that summer. Gary Quarles is a friend of the family, his father-in-law being my church pastor at the time, and he was going to supervise that second shift. He needed to hire a full crew so the old adage about who you know certainly proved to be true. John Thornton was the owner of American Rug Crafstmen in Sugar Valley, GA. He never moved to Georgia and drove down each day from Maryville, TN. After being chosen Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992 the local newspaper came out for an interview and Thornton gave him a tour of the mill. It was my first day of my first job. Gary, who has also pastored a Baptist Church for several years now, was literally explaining the job to me. I had only been there for about 10 minutes when the owner of the company and a newspaper photographer walked up to “my” station. True story.
The Master's Table 